Caged birds lullaby
by Mirajane Ryuu-Darkwings
Summary: They met by an accident, but maybe just this once it was fate? Follow Naruto and Neji as they understand what is love, friendship and devotion. What has fate planned for them? Arranged marriage? Onward to the finals of the Chuunin exams.FemNaruNeji
1. Chapter 1

**ok, this is one of my newest ideas, if you like this chap, i will continue this, if not, well we will see. ill try to make the chapters longer.**

**enjoy.**

**Discalimer:I dont own Naruto.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

A small, 11 year old child dressed in an orange baggy jumpsuit was walking slowly along the road, kicking some stray rocks with her feet along the way. The child had long spiky yellow sun-kissed hair tied in a messy bun at the base of her neck, making her spiky locks frame her face, hiding the loose knot at the back. Her blonde bangs were shadowing her face, outlining the three whisker like marks on her rosy cheeks. She also had bright cerulean eyes that were sparkling with angry tears. She was walking with her hands in pockets, a frown plastered on her scarred face.

Uzumaki Naruto, one who vowed never to cry was crying, because she failed the stupid academy test again. Ever year they put the stupid bunshin no jutsu, which was her worst. No matter how much she tried it, it never worked, never! She always passed the written exam, it was never the best, but she scraped enough points to pass, same went for the practical, she didn't have a taijutsu style like her classmates Sasuke, Shino, Kiba, but she was fast and she went around the attacks, dodging them and giving unexpected blows. It worked on everyone except Kiba and Sasuke. Both of them were too good with taijutsu and they were faster then her. Uzumaki Naruto was a complete tomboy, she always got in fights, mainly with Uchiha, she dressed like a boy, loved orange, 'cos it was the best color, 'ttebayo! She never cared for her looks, mascara, hair, like a certain pinkette and blonde who swooned over the 'last Uchiha'. Honestly, she didn't even know what they saw in him, he was just a stuck up prick with a huge ego, nothing more. But _noooo_, all the girls in their year saw him as some kind of a hero, pfff….

Well, no all, she had to hand it to her, the shy Hyuuga girl wasn't like that, but still, she needed a huge boost of confidence for sure. And there was her of course. The rest were all part of the huge 'Sasuke' fanclub, the leaders being Ino and Sakura.

Currently she was passing by one of the training grounds. They were for ninja who had graduated, not for academy students, it was forbidden to enter there but when had that ever stopped her? So cleaning her tears away with the back of her neon orange sleeve, the young girl marched to the training grounds, intending to do some training and improve her lame bunshin.

The training ground she had stumbled across was no 7. She liked that number, it brought a strange feeling of being complete to her. When she walked absently through the trees, she saw something black up ahead. Curiosity taking over, she went fro a closer look. It was a memorial stone with various names carved on it.

She knew that she wasn't the sharpest kunai in the ponch, but even she knew that these were the names of the ones gone MIA or those who died in action, in other words, heroes. To her that's what they were, true heroes, those who died protecting the leaf. She would protect it with her life too, she knew that.

Her eyes searched the carved names, until she focused on one.

_Minato Namikaze_

The fourth hokage, her idol. He died a hero's death, saving the village from the nine tailed demon fox. He was everything she wanted to achieve, and she was going to surpass him, dattebayo! She was going to be a hokage, the best of them all! But then she remembered why she came to the training grounds in the first place, oh yeah, the stupid bunshin! Realization hit her with a bang…none of the hokages failed graduation twice, and certainly none of them had trouble with a simple clone jutsu! Maybe she just plain sucked? No, hell no! She was going to prove to them all what Uzumaki Naruto was made of, dattebayo!

Come on, what was a stupid bunshin that she couldn't do? She will overcome it, no matter what!

"Ok, lets give it a try, I can do this…concentrate…" she put her fingers in the ram seal and screwed her eyes shut. Blue chakra started to swirl around her in a maelstrom.

"…and release!" she let it out with a cry of 'Bunshin no jutsu!'

She sneaked a peak. A greenish slightly dead looking clone looked back at her and dissolved right by her feet. Her shoulders slumped.

"You are overloading it with chakra idiot." Said a calm, cold voice.

Naruto snapped her eyes back open and whirled around to glare at the person who said that. The person turned out to be a boy, probably her age or older. The first thing she noticed on him was the Konoha hitai-ate on his forehead.

_So he is a ninja. Maybe he graduated a year earlier? But I don't remember him…._

The next thing she noticed was the scowl on his face. Like he was mocking her.

"Oh yeah, and how would you know?" she demanded rather rudely.

The boy sighed.

"I have a kekkei genkai that can see the chakra circulatory system, but I am not going to explain it to YOU, you should have known it from the academy. It just proves that its fate that you are so stupid."

Putting away her curiousity about what 'kekkei genkai' was, and secretly not wanting so seem even more stupid to him, she glared at him harder and pointed an accusing finger at him.

"Oy bastard, stop calling me stupid! I am not! Besides, its not my fault they hate me so much that they don't teach me…." The last part was spoken in a whisper, but the boy heard it. Inwardly he frowned, while on the outside he didn't move a muscle.

_Sabotaging training? That's not like Konoha…who is this kid?_

Naruto just sighed and put her finger back in the ram sign again. No giving up!

"What, can't you move somewhere else? I am practicing!" she snapped at him.

The only reaction she got was a raised eyebrow.

"You know, you, an _academy student_, are in a training ground meant for _shinobi_, those who _graduated_ the academy…..i on the other hand am a shinobi, so who do you think should be the one to go away?" he replied casually, his arms crossed on his chest and eyes closed. A small smirk was playing on his face, like he had won or something. But Naruto was having none of that.

"Heh, try and make me get out of here bastard."

With that she made the hand seal and another dead clone popped up in front of her. She sighed and put her hands up to try again.

"Why do you try it over and over again when its fated that you will never be able to do the bunshin?"

She turned to face him. He was in still in the same position, only his eyes were open and showed anger. But Naruto noticed something deep down…was it….curiosity? Or maybe denial? She couldn't help but notice his eyes, they were pale lavender in color, pupil less, but it didn't freak her out, she was used to such eyes, Yamanaka Ino had them, but the color, it reminded her of the shy blue haired girl in her class, maybe they are related or something?

"'cos its my way of ninja, I never give up, never, no matter what it takes, ill reach my goal, ill become hokage so that everyone will acknowledge me for who I am, so that I wont be hated anymore…"

He chucked. It sounded cold, too cold for her liking, making the hairs on her hand stuck up. She unconsciously took step back.

"You? A hokage? A no name like you will never be a hokage, its fated. You can't change what's fated. Hokage become those who were born to be, but not you, you might not even graduate and become a ninja with that clone of yours"

That made her blood boil. She saw red.

The boy smirked and caught the fist aiming for his head with ease.

"You are a joke of a ninja, just give it up, its your fate!" he sneered. She just jerked her hand off and delivered a roundhouse kick on his head. He caught it too and twisting in in an odd angle made her cry out in pain.

"Why do you fight against it?"

"Because I can change my fate! No one tell me what my destiny is besides me! I will change it, I will not be hated for unknown reasons, I will become hokage, and even if you defeat me now, I still wont give up! No matter what! Dattebayo!"

He let her go. She slumped on the grass, but quickly stood up and took a rather sloppy stance. It was all she knew of taijutsu and as she didn't have a ny family to teach her, she used the academy style. She knew she couldn't defeat him, she felt the power radiating from him, but she could always count her speed and…..no that didn't work the first time, she needed a new plan, and fast! She didn't even know why, but this guy irritated her more then the Uchiha teme. He only 'hn' ed when she declared her goals, but this one, this bastard dared to say she wasn't fated to be a shinobi! Fate! Heh, what a load of crap!

But to her slight shock that she couldn't hide, he didn't take a stance, he just stood there, looking at her like he was seeing her for the very first time. His eyes, the beautiful lavender jewels were confused.

_I wonder why…What had happened to him?_

"Fight fate? You actually think you can fight fate? One who is destined to be a dead last will always be a dead last!..-" he shouted, eyes blazing with anger. Suddenly he was in front of her, glaring daggers at the poor girl, daring her to speak. But she was Uzumaki Naruto, she never gave up on her ideas! She stared right back her eyes narrowed and her hands on her hips.

"…and one who is fated to be a servant and carry a seal, all his life is fated to be just that, a slave! You cannot fight it! That's why you lost to me, it was fated, and that's why you will not graduate! It is FATED!"

Naruto was taken aback by this. She didn't even know why she did it, but she put her hand on his shoulder in what she thought was a comforting manner and just looked at him, eyes radiating confusion. The boy jerked at first at the contact, but then relaxed.

He sat down on the ground, leaning on the memorial stone and sighed, closing his eyes with his elbow. The blonde haired girl followed suit and sat on the grass, hugging her legs close to her.

"I'll tell you the Hyuuga destiny of hatred. The Hyuuga main family has a special ninjutsu passed down, its a juinjutus-cursed seal jutsu."

"Cursed seal?" she repeated, puzzled.

"My uncle and my father were twins, born to the main clan head. The difference between their births was a minute. It was fated that my father would be braided with the Hyuuga caged bird seal and become clan head of the branch clan."

_So he is related to the shy girl? She was Hyuuga too…And wait, what seal?_

"So you are related to Hinata?"

He looked at her, anger flooding him once again.

"Yes" he said curtly. She could see it was a painful subject to him to talk about, and he was sharing it with a total stranger.

She felt bad for a bit, but then again, she had felt herself like that too, so…

"Hinata-sama is my cousin. She is the eldest daughter of Hiashi-sama, my…my uncle."

"Wait wait wait, I don't get it, what seal? And why the hell is your clan divided into two? Its illogical!" she complained, waving her arms around. When she looked back at him, his expression was solemn, even calm, like he had already decoded on his fate and….didnt care anymore.

She blushed and turned away, embarrassed.

"Gomenasai Hyuuga san, I will not pry anymore, I can see it's a [painful subject for you and…"

"No…no, I will tell you."

He slowly started to take off his headband. Naruto gasped. A green seal was imprinted on his forehead.

"This…-" he tyed the hiate back "..-is the Hyuuga caged bird seal. The curse of the mark represents 'a bird in a cage'. It is...the symbol of being tied to an inescapable destiny. It is designed for the Hyuuga branch members. This seal is given to all branch house members in the Hyuuga clan by members of the main house. Its main purpose is to seal our Byakugan ability when we die, preventing an enemy from learning its secrets. Its secondary purpose is to control the branch house, since it can be activated at will by a main house member with a hand seal only known by them. It destroys the wearer's brain cells."

Naruto was speechless. She never knew that clans in Konoha were so…cruel. And whatever the 'byakugan' was, it was something important, like a cool ability or something, so it was natural that they wanted to protect it, but this way? She couldn't comprehend it, her mind was still working on it when the boy continued to speak.

"The seal is placed when the next main family member turns 3. When I was 4, i had this horrible seal carved in my forehead through that curse seal jutsu, as you see, it was done to me, on Hinata-sama's birthday."

"But why do you need that seal? To destinguish the main and branch families?Why?" Naruto screamed in frustration.

"It is not for decoration!" the lavender eyed boy spat, looking coldly at her.

She shrank back.

"The cursed seal is the absolute fear of death given to the branch families by the main family. With a simple hand seal known only to the main family, the mind of the branch member can be destroyed easily. Death is just as easy, of course. And the curse seal will disappear only after death, sealing up the ability of Byakugan forever."

Naruto still didn't know what 'Byakugan was, but she had an idea that it was something very important, if the family went so such measures to protect it.

"The day I was braided with the seal was also the day Konoha signed a treaty with Kumogakure no sato. But we were betrayed. At night one of them tried to kidnap Hinata. Hiashi sama killed him on the spot. It turned out to be the embassador himself. Kumo denied all of it, saying that Konoha killed their man for no reason. They demanded the body of Hyuuga Hiashi."

Naruto gasped. His tone had turned bitter towards the end. But she kept silent, she felt it wasn't the best time to interrupt.

"They got the body they wanted, but it wasn't Hiashi sama, it was…was my father, Hyuuga Hizashi. They were twins, and with him braided with the seal Kumo couldn't have the secrets of the Byakugan…."

Naruto sighed.

"My father was killed by the main family!" the boy shouted, having the urge to ram his fist in the closest tree.

"You know, maybe it was his own descision.." the blonde whispered.

"What!"

His face snapped to hers in an instant. She felt a bit uneasy under his gaze.

"Well, maybe he had decided to die, maybe…just maybe it was a way of freedom for him? You should go and ask you uncle, talk to him.."

"No , I am not going to..-"

"But what if your father wanted you to be happy, be free, fight for your freedom? Just go and ask your uncle bastard, and dont blame Hinata, it wasn't her fault."

"If she hadn't been so weak then..-"

"Then what! She was 3 for Kamis sake, 3!"

"I had already mastered Byakugan when I was 3, so did her sister!"

"You are so self-centered you know that! She is a sweet girl, don't hurt her, you hear me? Or else.."

"Or else what!" he sneered.

Next minute he found himself eating the grass, with the blonde seated on him, his own kunai pointed at his neck.

_Fast!_

"I defeated you, a low life nobody like med defeated a genius like you. I can fight fate, its tiem you did too, and I am going to get the clone down, I am going to graduate and I sure as hell am going to be hokage!"

Without another word she got up, dusted herself and left, leaving a confused Hyuuga to ponder on everything that happened today.

He came to one conclusion. The day was weird, very weird.

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><p>Naruto huffed and growled as she crawled in her bed that day. The Hyuuga boy had pissed her off.<p>

She was so frustrated that she didn't even dry her hair off after the shower.

_Tch, stupid idiotic bastard! Hope he at least got what I meant…..And that seal_

She shivered.

Sure she might not meet the guy again, but the seal affected her, she even felt some sort of a connection with him, even if she herself couldn't quite explain it.

She wanted to get rid of the seal, she knew that for sure.

Well, it seemed that she needed a small trip to the library to find anything on seals….if there was, after all she was still an academy student.

She turned to lie on her stomach and tried to sleep.

The face of the brunette Hyuuga came popping in her mind again.

"Ugh!"

She slapped a pillow over her head and groaned.

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><p>Academy was over, she had 3 months of vacation before the last term started again. Last year…she sighed. She needed to get the bunshin down, or else she would be thrown out of the ninja system! How will she become hokage if it happened?<p>

Her frustration rose when she went to the library. It was only civilian stuff, no shinobi scrolls at all! Only theory and who needed it! And absolutely nothing on seals!

So with nothing left to do, she marched to the same training ground again.

_Tch, bushin teme, you are so going DOWN!_

Making the ram sign she screamed.

"Bunshin no jutsu!"

Chakra circled her again and a pop was heard. It was a clone, a dead one. Again.

She groaned and screamed, muffling the sound in her arms.

"You are overloading it again stupid"

The voice surprised her and she jumped. Her stomach did a small flip and her cheeks turned pink.

He was there, casually leaning on one of the trees, eyes closed, arms crossed and a small smirk on his face, again.

"You again! How the hell do you know! And what are you doing here? Don't you have your own team or something? And Why the hell are you looking at me like that? Why..-"

She found a hand over her mouth, stopping her rumbling.

He sighed.

"Well, I…I talked to my uncle about it, and you…", he started, then paused seemingly unable to continue.

She raised her eyebrows.

"You were right" he admitted, "It was my fathers choice, he told me to fight in a last letter. Thank you for making me see."

The blonde smiled, it was visible by the way her eyes crinkled upwards. It felt nice to know she helped him, sort of like he needed her….

"And I know because I have the Byakugan, I am training here, besides I wanted to talk to you, yes, I have a team, but the training starts only in a few hours, so do the missions, and I am NOT looking at you…", he huffed and looked away, trying to hide his reddening cheeks.

_Huh? Why is he all red? Do all Hyuuga turn red around me?_

Naruto thought it might be her imagination, so she just shrugged it off, but the small butterflies in her stomach were making it a bit hard for her.

_Whats wrong with me?_

She looked him over. She had to admit, he was….cute. His long brown hair that cascaded down to his lower back..

_Heh mine is longer dattebayo!_

He was dressed in a white shirtand shorts with bandages going up his right hand and left leg. He had a sharp chin, and the smirk on his heart shaped face was gorgeous, she had to admit it!

But the most amazing were his eyes, those pools of lavender that were currently laughing at her visibly reddening face. She quickly composed herself and stomped on his foot, hard.

Jerking his hand back he let her breathe again.

"Ouch!", grumbled the stoic Hyuuga, not meeting her eyes.

She was doubled over, laughing. When she composed her face again and he faced her, she asked the first thing that popped in her mind.

"Ano, so whats Byakugan?"

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><p><strong>well, i edited this one a bit, hope you guys read it again. im thinking of posting the next chap soon,<strong>

**anyway review, or else i'll have neji glare at you, jk :P**


	2. Chapter 2

Edited

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

There was only one thing that crossed the mind of the Hyuuga genius Neji as he lay on his bed, trying to get some sleep. Kami knew he needed it, and needed it now.

_This day was very weird, by all standards._

To understand the predicament that the young boy had found himself in lets make a short trip to the past, namely the morning of that fateful day.

It was a very warm morning in Konohagakure no Sato, very quiet and peaceful.

Unless you counted the racket that was in the Academy at that point. The newly graduated bunch on kids were all yelling in happiness, swooning ( over him _sigh _he needed to do something about that fanclub of his) with hearts in their eyes (he never figure how they even graduated in the first place, they will never survive the cruel world of shinobi with that attitude). He calmly went over to sit at the very back and quietly observer everyone present.

There were a lot of kids, in his opinion, too much. None of them were fated to be shinobi. His eyes fell on a boy dressed in a white kimono type top, his braided jet black hair waving back and forth as he told his comrades that he passed with unhidden enthusiasm.

To say Neji was surprised was an understatement. This boy was Rock Lee, the dead-last of the lot. He couldn't do any ninjutsu or genjutsu at all, his brainpower wasn't that strong and he was average in taijutsu , nothing more. In other words, a dropout, useless kid who would only get in the way on missions. How the hell did he even graduate?

But the proof of his graduation was glittering on his forehead. The Konoha hitai-ate, a metal plate with the symbol of leaf engraved upon it, kept with a dark blue cloth. He turned away. The blinding light coming from his toothy grin could blind him, who knows.

His eyes turned to the only female of the group who didn't swoon over him, even if he had a fleeting suspicion that she had a crush on him. Its not like he cared for females, they were useless in his opinion, besides, he doubted he would meet a female that will catch his attention.

In the classroom on the floor above, where students a year younger were having their own exams, a blonde sneezed.

Higarashi Tenten, a tomboy who was obsessed with everything traditional and weapons.

She was probably one of the few, besides him of course , that deserved to be a shinobi.

"Quiet down!" yelled a voice. It was their sensei, who had just arrived. The plump man sighed and started a very long talk about the meaning and responsibility of being shinobi, of the dangers and of the ties one should have to survive.

He scoffed. _Ties? They who aren't fated to survive will not, nothing can change that, no matter how they train and who they end up with._

He of course, like many who came from shinobi families knew that they would be placed in a three men cell, a team.

_A team which will only get in the way of successfully completing missions._

He was not pleased by it, but he accepted it. His father used to tell him stories of his own gennin team, and how fun it was. Neji doubted it would be fun if he ended with THIS particular bunch.

He sighed and tuned off the chubby sensei as he started to say the teams. He would probably end up with Lee anyway, since he was dead-last.

It was no secret to him that the rookie of the year had the dead last. All the teams were balanced either by power levels or by team types.

His team was going to be a combat team, he knew it, it was, after all destined to be.

"…Team 9, Hyuuga Neji, Higarashi Tenten and Rock Lee"

He sighed.

_Typical. But then again, it is better then to get one of the fangirls…._

All the student waited for their respective senseis.

If only Neji knew exactly how weird his day was going to end, he might have ran, and he nearly did, out of fear to be around the man that had just entered the building.

"DINAMIC ENTRANCE!" boomed a voice and a green something landed in front of them.

Tenten blanched and leaned back, as far away as possible from the green…something. So did Neji, but he composed his face before anyone noticed.

Lee however was bouncing.

"Gay sensei! You are our sensei? Yosh!"

He was about to jump and hug the man when he took a serious stance and said in a deep voice to follow him.

Neji sighed and with slumped shoulders followed him along with a doubting Tenten and an overexcited Lee.

They had their introductions, during which Tenten proved to be a true kunoichi. She wanted to be like Tsunade. Not like she will ever manage it, but it still was much better then fangirlism. And Lee, he wanted to be a taijutsu master. He didn't believe he could do it, but nothing he said made the boy go down, instead he proclaimed him as his eternal rival.

If only he knew it will end like that, he would have kept his mouth shut. Lee was already sprouting nonsense about 'flames of youth'. He never knew gennin tended to have the same quirks as their senseis in such a short span of knowing them! Lee had seen the man only once, when after training the henge he couldn't mold chakra. The man had come to him and told him never to give up. But it was only that, nothing more.

They were soon interrupted by a yell from the green sensei.

"Kakashi, my dear friend, have you come for another challenge?"

They whirled around to find a very pecualar sight.

It was a jounin with gravity defying silver hair. The only facial feature that was seen was the bored grey eye that was focused on the little orange book.

The same book he had seen in the bookstore.

It was porn.

He tried not to glare.

"Hmm, did you say something?", came the causal answer.

They looked back at their sensei, whose face was boiling with anger. After that came the explanation.

It seemed that this man was Hatake Kakashi, the 'eternal rival' of Mighto Guy. They always had challenges. Currently it was 28 to 29, the silver haired man was winning, so he got to choose.

The choice turned out to be jan-ken-pon. And Hatake won. But their sulking sensei brightened and proceeded to run laps around Konoha using his hands. He left three bewildered gennin behind, one thinking that he was crazy, one cursing fate, and one thinking he's a genius.

Hyuuga Neji left after that, pondering on his predicament and thinking what would his father say. His feet carried him to training ground 7, namely to the memorial stone.

He stared for a long time at the name of his father before he felt someone approaching him. He quickly took a few steps back and leaned on the tree facing the stone.

It was a blonde child, no hiate could be seen, so the child was an academy student.

He took a closer look.

It was a girl. A very beautiful girl.

His eyes widened at this thought and he mentally slapped himself.

But he had to admit it as he look from her eyes, cerulean blue, clearer then the sky to the sun kissed yellow hair that framed her face. It seemed to be tied in a bun that many couldn't see from the mane of golden curls. But he was Hyuuga Neji, he noticed things many didn't. He noticed that she most probably had a petite small figure under the overly (his eyes squinted) orange baggy jumpsuit. He noticed the peculiar whisker marks on her cheeks.

_Interesting. Is that a clan trait?_

He was taken aback when she started mattering furiously under her breath while looking at the names on the stone. She then tried to make a clone.

He snorted, albeit quietly.

She put too much chakra in it. But no one, especially not an academy student should have so much chakra, it was nearly as much as Hiashi sama has! But she couldn't do it, he saw her try again and again, still she overloaded it every single time.

Finally he snapped.

"You are overloading it with chakra, idiot" he said in a calm, cold voice. She whirled around angrily at him. He was taken aback at her beauty, but those thoughts left him as soon as she opened her mouth.

Needless to say, the argument was very heated. She even dared to call him a bastard a few times! How dare she! He didn't even know why he bothered but he told her everything. Of the cursed seal, of his fate, of his father's hate, of the kidnapping of Hinata…

He never told anyone about that, he always kept it all bottled inside, and now he was letting it all out on this girl he hardly knew of.

And she took it all. She even defeated him in the end, proving that fate wasn't written on a scroll. It could be fought and changed.

But damn, she was fast.

After that and with a last "I defeated you, a low life nobody like med defeated a genius like you. I can fight fate, its tiem you did too, and I am going to get the clone down, I am going to graduate and I sure as hell am going to be hokage!", she stomped off there, head held high, leaving a very confused Hyuuga.

_What a weird day._

It went weirder.

When he reached home, he decided to do as the blonde told him, go and talk with his uncle. He didn't even know why he listened to that orange brat! Who the hell was she to tell her what to do! Hell no, he was Hyuuga Neji, no female could order him around!

He knocked on a wooden door, kneeling.

"Yes?"

"May I come in, Hiashi-sama"

So now the young boy was trying to get the sleep he so desperately wanted. But the blonde haired girl kept popping up in his mind.

She was right. He had found out the truth of what really happened that night. It really was his father's choice. He wanted to die, for his family, for his brother. It was all explained in the scroll hi father, Hyuuga Hizashi had given him.

He sighed. A few tears escaped his eyes. He quickly cleared them away with the back of his hand.

He will need to apologize to Hinata the next day.

And he had team training too, some sort of a test. Higarashi Tenten, a girl who lost her mother during the Kyuubi attack and the only daughter of Higarashi Akira, the owner of the best weapons store in all Konoha. She will become a weapos mistress, he knew that for sure, and Rock Lee, he will excel at taijutsu, but he will never beat him, Hyuuga Neji, genius of the Hyuuga clan, a prodigy, who's Byakugan id far more developed then that of any youngster's in the clan….now that he thought of it, they would make a fine team after all.

_Just please please, Kami, don't let Gay sensei corrupt them!_

And the blonde…..

The small blonde girl that opened his eyes.

He still remembered how he couldn't take his eyes of her face when he in a burst of anger had grabbed her and peered at her, scowling.

The effect was lost due to her eyes.

He sighed and rooled over trying to get the image of the blonde angel…_Pfff, more like a devil!... _from his mind.

It was a hard task to do.

_Damn blondes and their beautiful eyes! Wait, what? Get a grip on yourself! You are Hyuuga Neji, you do not look at girls or think of them like that!_

It was a truly very troublesome day after all.

A young boy with his brown hair shaped like a pineapple sneezed in his sleep.

Next morning, before the training with his team began the young Hyuuga went to the training grounds again.

To train, and just breathe fresh air, and not look for a blonde girl that might be there! Surely not!

His stoic expression turned to a smile when he saw her again. She was practicing the bunshin again.

And failing.

"Bunshin no jutsu!"

Chakra circled her again and a pop was heard. It was a clone, a dead one. Again.

He saw her groan and scream, muffling the sound in her arms. It was very amusing to watch. A small smirk playing on his lips, he casually said.

"You are overloading it again stupid"

He could see that he had surprised her, for she jumped and blushed slightly when she caught sight of him. This made a brow rise.

_Why is she all red? Is she sick?_

"You again! How the hell do you know! And what are you doing here? Don't you have your own team or something? And Why the hell are you looking at me like that? Why..-"

He quickly moved foreword and covered her mouth with his hand. He couldn't help but notice that he kind of….liked the touch?

Her eye was twitching.

He sighed.

"Well, i…I talked to my uncle about it, and you…" truly he didn't want to admit it, but he felt that she deserved to know.

She raised her eyebrows.

"You were right" he admitted, "It was my father's choice, he told me to fight in a last letter. Thank you for making me see."

The blonde smiled, it was visible by the way her eyes crinkled upwards.

"And I know because I have the Byakugan, I am training here, besides I wanted to talk to you, yes, I have a team, but the training starts only in a few hours, so do the missions, and I am not looking at you…"

His cheeks flushed for a second at that. He refused to believe that this blonde girl caught his attention! No.

But that didn't stop the reddening of his cheeks. Seening that she was about to notice, he composed himself and looked at her.

She was staring at him, from head to foot, as thought analizing him. This made him blush a darker shade.

_Could it be? NO! Stop thinking of that Hyuuga Neji, its inappropriate, you are in a presence of a lady!_

Well he doubted calling her a lady was accurate, she WAS a tomboy after all, but he had some manners drilled into him by his father and later his uncle. It was one of the main unspoken rules of the Hyuuga clan.

It was then that he noticed the deep blush covering her face, one half of the face, since he had the other half still covered with his hand.

He couldn't take it, he laughed silently. She was so fun to tease, and he had very little fun in his life.

Suddenly he felt pain shoot through his foot.

"Ouch!"

Apparently she had stomped on it.

He jerked his hand back and turned to rub the sore spot.

"Ouch!"

"Ano, so whats Byakugan?"

Now he really couldn't control it, he laughed, laughed out of pure joy, for no reason at all, and he liked it.

* * *

><p>Hope you guys liked it.<p>


	3. Chapter 3

**I know i havent updated in a very long time! so please forgive me. i had a lot of stuff going on, and had a lot projects to finish with uni, plus all the exams. nevertheless, im back with a new chap. hope you guys didnt abandon me!**

**Enjoy**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

**A year later.**

"Dammit! Where is she? We must catch that brat!"

"There!"

"No! wait, there?"

A young figure clad in orange laughed in glee from her hiding place. It was really funny how those chuunin and jounin couldn't catch her! Well, she was naturally fast, but that didn't matter.

She rubbed her hands together, a foxy grin crawling on her face.

_And then they say that orange is too bright, and that I will be killed instantly! Pfff, dattebayo!_

She fondly petted her orange jacked, which was unzipped at this moment. No one messed with orange anyway!

She brought her right hand to her forehead , and squinting her cerulean eyes, grinned at her masterprank.

The pain was so bright, and she had randomly splattered it across the faces. All in red, yellow and orange. The colors suited the hokages. That was what she thought. And this was Uzumaki Naruto, what she thought was right.

And this was the reason why she was being chased. Not that they could catch her!

She hopped from a building and blended to the opposite wall, using the simplest illusion juts that even she could do.

The crown of the noisy shinobi ran past her, still looking for the 'orange brat'.

She snickered. Then it turned to full blown laughter.

"There you are Naruto!"

The girl shrieked and turned to face a pissed off scarred chuunin.

_Again? How in the name of Hashiramas left…_

Not even wanting to finish that thought, the blonde slowly backed away.

A hand grabbed her ankle and she went crashing to the ground.

"Itaii!"

"What did you do this time, Naruto? "

Said blonde huffed and stayed silent. Not that it took a long time for Iruka to figure out what exactly she had done.

_Tch..why does he always catch me!_

She found herself tied up and unceremoniously dumped in front of the classroom. The children erupted in laughter. Naruto's cheeks went tomato red in embarrassment, and she looked away, pouting.

Umino Iruka rubbed his temples and cleared his throat. It didn't help. A tick appeared on his forehead and he decided to use the most letal weapon of any academy teacher. The big-head no jutsu.

"SHUT THE HELL UP!"

Silence. After Iruka controlled his harsh breathing into a calm flow again, he announced.

"Now that Naruto here was kind enough to join us, we will review the henge no jutsu"

Groans filled the room. All the students were glaring up at the girl, who wasn't exactly happy herself.

After untying Naruto, Iruka made them sand in a line.

The girl in front of her, Yamanaka Ino, turned around and glared at her.

"This is all your fault Naruto!"

Said girl chose to ignore this. Instead, she decided on a prank.

_Right..ill use that jutsu! Hihihihihiii _

She laughed evilly, making Shikamaru Nara and Uchiha Sasuke raise eyebrows at her, the latter though, unnoticed.

"Haruno Sakura!" came Iruka's voice.

A pink haired girl, with a red ribbon tied like a headband on top of her head came foreword. She was dressed in all red and had a weird spiral like sign etched on the fabric.

_Maybe it's a clan? But Sakura chan is from a civilian family, right? Hehe, weird parents then, naming a kid with pink hair Sakura…_

If they were alive, a certain redhead and a certain blonde would have sneezed.

Deep inside a dark sewer, a red eye opened and a snort escaped the being.

_Right anyways, the jutsu…no wait, Neji will kill me if he finds out…but this is my class, and he is on a mission, so no harm done? Yush, now then!_

She focused her eyes on Uchiha Sasuke as he stepped foreword and did a flawless transformation into the Sandaime. He really was good, no wonder he was called a prodigy. As Naruto watched him, she remembered how she used to want to be like him, just as cool, just as acknowledged. She had declared him her rival till death. When he had lost his clan, she understood his pain, at least she thought she did. And the day, when she was walking alone, seeing him on the edge of the river, alone made her feel sad, she wanted to make him smile for some reason. She remembered the full smile she had given him, before glaring of course, and the small, hesitant ghost of a smile she had received back. From that day on, she always considered him a friend. Sure he was a jerk who had a stick up his ass, but he noticed her, and in a way, she felt connected to him. She remembered their every spar, and that he always won. She growled. _Just you wait Uchiha Sasuke, one day….i'll definitely defeat you!_

She even forgot that she was the dead-last of the whole group.

"…uto…Naruto! Pay attention! And come up here!" yelled Iruka.

The blonde snapped back to reality and confidentially walked to the middle of the classroom, a smirk adoring her face.

She stole another glance at her rival, her eyes daring him to see how awesome she was. But the smirk her sent her way chilled her to the bone. And his eyes..what the hell was wrong with them? _Quit staring you teme!_

Huffing, she faced Iruka, and with a foxish grin that made the chuunin dread what was coming, disappeared in a cloud of smoke. When it cleared, it showed a girl, naked, who looked like a much older version of Naruto herself, clouds covering her…assets. Blood sprouted from the nose of the instructor and he was sent flying into the wall.

With a 'pop' the blonde transformed back to herself and pumped her fist in the air with a triumphant 'Yatta!'

She turned around and sweatdropped.

Nearly all the guys were drooling, except Chouji, who was always focused on his beloved chips, Shino, well..you couldn't tell, he always covered his face, and Shikamaru, who was sitting there with a 'troublesome' expression on his face.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the usually emotionless Uchiha, who was covering his nose and his cheeks were pink.

The jinchuuriki started laughing, pointedly staring at Sasuke with mirth filled eyes. Said boy glared at her and turned around, hurriedly running his sleeve over his face.

Who knew the Uchiha could forget that he was the noble part of Konoha. Or that the last Uchiha was a hidden pervert.

The blonde stopped laughing when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Her instinct was telling her to run for it. But she was an Uzumaki dattebane! Uzumaki fear nothing…except..

A very angry Sakura, and the fanclub behind her.

Naruto laughed nervously and looked around for an escape.

Umino Iruka woke up 10 minutes later, to find his blonde student in a bloody heap on the floor. He sighed.

"You are not going home until you finish cleaning this..mess." stated the chunnin, rubbing a thumb across his scar.

Naruto, who was scrubbing the paint off the first hokage's nose just glared at him.

"..not like anyone's waiting foe me, so who cares.." she muttered under her breath angrily. _When will Neji be back? Hmph, going away on for a few days. So what if it's a C-rank…_

The chuunin heard it.

"Well..how about this…you finish this fast, and I treat you to ramen?" he suggested quietly, watching the blonde tense. _Did I say something wrong?_

But Naruto turned around, giving him a huge grin.

"Now THAT'S what I call motivation! I'll be done in 5 Iruka-sensei!" she yelled and started scrubbing with double speed.

Said sensei sweatdropped and shook his head, smiling slightly. Said smile didn't stay long, but the girl didn't notice.

He was just an academy teacher. He never got much of a salary! And now! Everything was gone!

He watched in horror as the bottomless blonde consumed another bowl in one go. He had never seen anyone eat like that. Especially ramen!

Naruto however, was beaming. He felt a tug at his heart, but locked it away quickly.

"Naruto…why did you do that? Don't you know who the hokage are?", he asked ,peering sideways at her.

She nodded, and slurped the noodles.

"Of course I know! They are the strongest shinobi in Konoha, all of them were strong and respected, I especially like Yondaime! He was a hero, with saving the village from the demon fox and all! I want to be like him! I painted the monument, so that people will remember. One day, my own face will be there too, dattebayo!", she ook a deep breath, and leaned back from the chair, eyeing the monument. The Yondaime was her comfort. She always liked going to sit on his head, she felt calm, and somewhat loved there, thought she didn't know why. That helped her go through the pain, the glares. They didn't beat her up, but being thrown out of shops wasn't exactly painless. She smiled softly, her eyes gleaming with determination.

_Just you watch, Yondaime Hokage, I will become The Rokudaime! _

"Why Rokudaime?" came a confused voice.

"Oops, I said that aloud?" she gaped at him. After his nod, she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

"I really don't know Iruka-sensei, I just want to be the Rokudaime! Not the Godaime…"

She dug her chopsticks into the bowl, but realized there was nothing there.

Iruka watched amusedly as she glared at it. He folded his hands under his head and said in a monotone.

"None of the Hokage failed the gennin test twice. You know its tomorrow, right? You didn't forget?"

"Iruka-sensei!" came an indignant yell from the short blonde, who had temporarily forgotten her ramen" I haven't! I will pass, just you wait, it will be my first step!"

She smirked then put her most lethal weapon to use.

Puppy-eyes no jutsu!

"W..what do you want, Naruto"

The girl had her hands together, and was peering up at him with the cutest expression ever. Found only on cats (except Tora) and Konohamaru.

"Um..ano…can I try on your headband?"

Iruka laughed, scratching his scar.

"No, this." He pointed at the hiate "..is a mark of a ninja, who GRADUATED. You will have your own when you graduate too"

He ruffled her hair, but stopped after a few minutes.

"I WANT MORE RAMEN PLEASE!"

She sure knows how to get revenge..

If anyone would have been on the southern side of Konoha at 9 pm, they would have seen a jonin, hair in a spiky short ponytail, shoulders slumped, walking along the deserted road and muttering about blonde brats who waited all his money.

* * *

><p>Naruto had ran off from Ichiraku's, yelling over her shoulder that she had to catch some sleep. Iruka believed it. The girl watched him leave, a sigh escaped her.<p>

Now, back to business. Off to the library.

She knew it was already late, but this was something she had to do, thus she slowly broke into a run.

As she rounded in a corner, she saw it. A huge red building, carefully guarded by some seals. Only shinobi could enter, and even they had to be supervised on what they take. Plus it wasn't like anyone could just come in and take what they want. In this library were the general things, like theory. You couldn't find any jutsu here even if you searched it for your whole life. That's was, what Neji had told her the next day of their fateful meeting. Naruto hit herself lightly on the head.

_Fateful? Im starting to sound like Neji, ttebayo.._

She remembered asking him what was Byakugan. And he had laughed. Naruto had kicked him in the shins for it. Not that it connected, for she was sent flying headfirst into the bushes, but that didn't matter. After a few minutes of trying to calm down and not murder the smirking boy, Naruto had opted for sitting silently on the grass and listening to him. Nedless to say she was fascinated. Neji had not only explained her what 'kekkei genkai' were, but also showed her his Byakugan. She would never admit it, but she liked it, it made him more mysterious. Then she had pestered him about other kekkei genkai he knew. Thus she learned of the Sahringan, and that Sasuke teme had it, but it was still unlocked. Also the Rinnegan, but since Neji didn't know much of it, she didn't learn much either.

That day, before going home, Neji had shown her the library, explained that it was only for theory, but that was all she needed for her bunshin to be normal. He had entered, leaving her alone for a few minutes. When he had come back, he had stuffed a few books in her hands. Chakra and its types, History of the hidden continents: Konohagakure no sato (she had sputtered about knowing this from the academy and not needing it, but a look from his had stopped her. She didn't even know why she was listening to this jerk at all) and the Bingo Book, latest edition. When Naruto had asked where he had gotten THAT one, he turned pink and mumbled something about idiotic supervisors who didn't even look who entered the ANBU section. Naruto was impressed. After that they hurriedly left, and Naruto started her studying. Little did she know that Neji had a few books of his own taken out from the ANBU section. He was, after all planning an investigation of his own, regarding the fact tat Konoha was sabotaging the training of one of their potential ninjas.

So here she was, standing in front of the library, her mind resolved. It wasn't for her kage bunshin, no she was here for another reason. She wanted to help Neji the moment she heard about the seal. And she wanted to remove it somehow. So, on the same night Neji had shown her the library, she had snuck in it from a secret underground trapdor, concealed by grass and ivy. She had found it by accident, when a stray cat had been looking at her. She had backed away till she hit the wall, and fell right into the small opening. This was a hidden section of the library, not even Neji knew of it. She knew one thing,it was small, and dark, and no one had been there for a very long time. She remembered having a coughing fit, for when she landed on her backside, dust raised from the ground.

Black markings were around the only door leading into the room from the inside of the library.

_So this is a seal? That's why no one got in? Sugoi….seals are so cool!_

In her excitement of finding something no one else had, she didn't realize the same markings were on the trapdoor from which fell through, or that her finger was bleeding.

This was where she was headed now.

The blonde girl looked around her: no one was in sight. Stealthily, she sneaked to the trapdoor, and biting her thumb, smeared some dark red liquid over it. The markings glowed. She pushed the doors open and jumped in. She heard the markings resealing themselves.

After her first visit here, she had found out that this room contained all the information Konohagakure had on sealing. Looking through the smallest scrolls, deeming hem the beginner's level, Naruto had found where to start. It was a small scroll, explaining what fuuinjutsu was and they types of it in general. That was how she knew that the room was protected by a blood seal. Of course, she had wondered why her blood of all the people opened it, but she doubted she would find an answer to it, so she just shrugged it off. Since that day, along with the scrolls Neji had given her, she had started on fuuinjutsu. Only a year had passed, and Naruto could only craft the basics, like a small storage seal, or an exploding tag. She was very proud of her achievements though, for the scroll explained that fuuinjutsu was very complex, and many jounin and kage didn't know anything beyond the basics.

Naruto carefully walked to the very end of the room, where a small collection of scrolls was stacked. She had done this to have some order in the room. The scrolls had been scattered wildly all around when she had first came.

Carefully she took out a scroll from her pocket, and placed it back to the shelf, then picked a few and opened them, her eyes scanning the contents. She deemed the first one she took was the continuation, so she pocketed it. When she was about to leave, a small notebook caught her eye. It was buried beneath a pile of huge scrolls and only the tip was seen. Naruto stared at it for a few moments, debating weather to take it or not.

Her curiosity overpowered (again), and she quickly dug it out. Her eyes widened.

_Sugoi…._

* * *

><p>A few minutes later, unseen by anyone except the nature of Konohagakure no Sato, a small, blonde girl, dressed in an orange jumpsuit was running along the streets. If anyone looked closer, they would have seen the excited look in her eyes.<p>

Uzumaki Naruto was nervous. No, scratch that, she was panicking.

Currently she was hitting her head hard on the desk, waiting for her doom. She had passed the written exam (after all the reading Neji made her do, and she would never admit it to him, but she had enjoyed that book on history, she had even developed a habit of rereading it! The Hyuuga was very surprised when she had declared to him that she was keeping the book and he must go prolong the time he could keep it. This had earned her a glare and a hidden proud look). She had gotten a good mark in taijutsu ( they had to show the kata), and her weapon throwing skills were just as good as Sasuke's. but now..it was the time for the ninjutsu exam. And Kiba had said it was a bunshin again, thus bringing her to the state she was now.

She had stayed up all night, reading the notebook, engrossed into it. And she hadn't practiced her bunshin. Nothing she did helped her make a normal one. And Neji always said she was overloading it with humungous chakra every single time. After reading the book on chakras, she understood that she had a lot of chakra _wonder from where…no one my age as that much, ttebayo! _Neji had suggested simplest chakra control. She would have to fill a leaf with chakra without letting it burn to a crisp. When he showed her what happened with his leaf when he filled it with chakra, her eyes went wide like saucers. It was slightly dump, and she could even feel the water moving there….she wanted the same effect! But her leaf always burned to a crisp, and faster then anyone could imagine. Though, her leaf also splinched into a lot of pieces too. There were many times she cut her own fingers with it. She had remembered reading a bit about elemental manipulation, seems that was what was happening. She had asked Neji, and he Hyuuga had confirmed it. It seemed she had wind based chakra, but it was much too soon to even try to control it. ("Why not! You can control yours, ttebayo!" "That's right, but I was trained in chakra control since I was 2 years old" "Hmph…")

They never really agreed on training with each other, or rather, Neji helping her, but they kind of met every day at the same time they met that fated day, and at the same place. It became a routine. And when Neji was away on missions, Naruto practiced alone, a smile returning to her face only when the Hyuuga prodigy comes back safe and sound. He never taught her his taijutsu. It was forbidden, and he didn't want do, his pride wouldn't let him, plus one needed to have the Byakgan. Naruto didn't want another's style either, but she made him agree to sparring with her, so that she will find her own style. They had spend months on it, thinking up ways, and finally decided to play on her speed. Incrasing it was important as well.

That was why a green clad jounin found a blonde girl doing laps around Konoha every morning. Naruto would never forget the day she met that…freaky green caterpillar eyebrows monster. Neji had to calm down the hysterical girl, while laughing himself. That was his sensei after all. Naruto had vowed the same day never to get a weird sensei!

A certain silver haired jounin had sneezed, resulting in him tripping on Tora, and his precious book being torn by claws. His howls even reached the Academy, were everyone thought someone was torturing a poor dog.

Another white haired man had sneezed, making all the women in the bathhouse shriek. He had been found beaten to a bloody pulp and dumped on the street by the garbage later.

A small toad had also sneezed, resulting an elder toad to making a prophesy that this day was destined and he would meet a cunning fox one day, who would turn his life around. Fukasaku hadn't been happy that day.

And far, far away, in Kumogakure no sato, a jinchuuriki sneezed, ruining all his rap notes and taking it out on his team. Kamui had sworn to beat the one who caused the incident to a bloody pulp.

"Uzumaki Naruto!"

Naruto's head shot up.

_Well…this is it….Kami help me, dattebayo!_

* * *

><p>yar, thats it. so what do you guys think? has my writing style changed?<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Willing the shaking to go away, Uzumaki Naruto entered the room.

There was a desk, behind which sat Iruka and Mizuki, a silver haired chuunin, who sneered openly at the sight of her.

The girl ignored this. After all, it was a common occurrence, nothing new.

_I can do this, dattebayo!_

"Perform the Bunshin no justu, Naruto", said Iruka kindly, pinching his nose with a pencil.

The blonde took a deep breath and put her hands in a ram seal. She closed her eyes and concentrated on her chakra. She felt it whirling around in utter chaos.

_Little..little amount, wait, I need less…_

_And..RELEASE!_

"Bunshin no jutsu!", she screamed and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Cautiously she peered. Her face fell. On the ground were 2 sickly looking clones, all dead.

Mizuki cleared his throat.

"Well, she did create 2 clones, Iruka, and she has a passing grade in everything else…we could pass her…"

Naruto looked at the scarred chuunin in hope, not noticing the evil glint in the eyes of the other.

Iruka sighed.

"No, we can not. The clone is crucial, if she fails it, then she doesn't pass, I am sorry Naruto."

But said girl was already out of the room.

Again, she found herself walking along a familiar path to training ground 7. Her feet were unconsciously taking her to the place she felt safe. She tried hard not to cry, but the tears stung her eyes. This had been her last try after all. She couldn't be a ninja anymore. She was a failure.

_And after all the training I went through..how will I look in his eyes? What will he say?_

_D..damn it!_

She punched a tree, ignoring the fact that it tore the delicate skin on her knuckles. She punched it with all her might, leaving dents, her salty tears falling on the ground in a mocking manner, showing her how weak she was. Soon, after strength left her, she slumped on the ground, hands still on the tree, not knowing where to go and what to do. It seemed like something was taken away from her.

"So what if I cant do a bunshin! Stupid bunshin…who needs it anyway…" she sniffed.

_Neji…was supposed to be back from that C rank today. I cant let him see me…not now.._

With that, she fled the training ground.

She never knew that Neji had come back early, and he had been waiting for her here. But when he saw the state she was in, he decided just to observe. It pained him to see that she failed. He had seen her strength, and he no longer believed in fate, but this was absurd.

He sighed, rubbing his forehead. The sight of her crying and injuring herself on purpose clawed at his heart. He gripped his chest in wonder and confusion. He didn't know why it was like that, but he knew one thing. He never wanted to see her hurt again, he never wanted to see her tears. Only her smiling face, full of joy.

Silently, he followed her. He had to make sure she didn't hurt herself more.

After sensing her chakra (which wasn't hard, as she never really repressed it), he ran off at full speed, not really understanding why he was doing this at all. Sure Naruto had become his friend, but so were Lee and Tenten, but he never felt this nervous or worried. Lee was injured during the mission, and even then he didn't worry as much as he did now.

What made her different then? He shook his head, trying to focus and sped up.

He found her slumped on the swing outside of the academy. All the other parents were congratulating their children on graduating, being hugged and kissed. And the look in her eyes told him clearly she wanted that too.

"Look!, it's that child, she is the only one who didn't graduate…."

"Im glad she didn't, if that thing became a shinobi.."

"Yes that demon.."

"Shhhh! Don't you remember? Its forbidden!"

Neji's eyes hardened at the conversation those two civilian women had just had.

_What in the world…demon? And what's forbidden? Naruto…._

He turned to look at her. But to his great surprise, the academy teacher, Mizuki was there with her.

"What's going on…"

He followed them to the roof, and concealing his chakra, stealthily hid behind a pillar.

Naruto was sitting near the roof, feed dangling and head low. Mizuki was staring ahead, smiling.

He had never seen a smile so fake.

_Something's not right…he is suspicious.._

"Don't be too angry at Iruka for failing you. He was right you know…"

"H-hai…"

"You know what? There is another way to graduate. It's a small mission, are you interested?"

Neji watched the man smile like a snake. Naruto however, turned to him with big eyes.

"Really?"

_Don't be an idiot! Think, there is no other way of graduating! He is lying! Stop being an idiot! _Neji thought, eyebrows furred and eyes hardened, staring at Mizuki.

"Yes, you simply have to take the Scroll of Sealing from the Hokage tower and learn a jutsu from it!"

_What? He wants her to steal it? Naruto…._

He watched her expression. It was perplexed, somewhat relieved and confused. But Neji noticed something else as well. Her eyes, they were wary of the chuunin.

_So she noticed something is off. Good. _

The Hyuuga stayed silent while watching the rest of the exchange. Mizuki had explained where exactly that scroll was and even told her the time to do it. Naruto agreed, then left.

Neji however, stayed there for a long time, pondering. When the time would come, he would simply follow Naruto. He just hoped she would tell the Hokage, there was no way a gennin would be able to get to the safely guarded library in the tower, even someone as good as Naruto, who was an expert of sneaking in.

The brunette boy, sat there, arms crossed, and staring at his hands. He had promised himself to find out why was Konoha treating one of their own so bad. And he had come to some conclusions. She was hated by most of the civilians and most of the chunnin and under. No one spoke of the reason why. He recalled the earlier conversation he witnessed. Maybe there was a law about not speaking of it? Who knew.

Naruto seemed not to care about the glares and various remarks, but Neji knew better. That was façade, along with the jumpsuit. She only wanted too be recognized. Thus the pranks.

But why…why was all this happening to her? His father never spoke ill of her, nor did his uncle. In fact, the few times he had seen Naruto with his father, he would always have a weird look on his face, and Neji couldn't guess what it was. And that was saying something, as Neji could read people by their expressions. All but that one. An expression he found on the face of his uncle when he asked him about the blonde. He never received an explanation.

He groaned. _It's already getting dark, she must have started with the plan already._ _I need some painkillers. I feel a headache coming up. _

He stood up, and formed a hand seal.

"Byakugan!"

Locating the familiar chakra, which was already heading to the Hokage tower, he quickly followed.

To his unconcealed amazement (his jaw had dropped), Naruto had managed to steal the scroll, which, he had to hand it to her, was twice bigger and thicker then her. She had a triumphant grin on her face, with a hint of mischief.

_No way…The hokage must have know someone broke in! Are you telling me she did something to defeat THE HOKAGE?_

Shaking his head in wonder, he followed her into the forest. She was already sitting on the grass, and the scroll was laying wide open in front of her.

Neji hid behind a tree and watched.

He saw her grunt, and her eyes widen. _Did she recognize something? But It's the scroll of sealing..what could…_

He saw her taking out a small scroll. But he couldn't fathom why she needed it. He had no idea what she was doing there with it, but after a few minutes, the small scroll was nowhere in sight, and the blonde had started to learn a jutsu.

The Hyuuga facepalmed, but stayed there nonetheless. It seemed to be a clone jutsu.

A snort escaped his lips as he watched the girl have a small tantrum about it always being a stupid bunshin and who needed them.

_She really is weird…and funny._

He was surprise that after her first try, she had already created 10 clones. He activated his byakugan, eyes narrowed.

_Just as I thought! I can't decipher which is a fake and which is the real…so THIS is the famed Kage Bunshin…_

After 20 or so minutes, Iruka arrived.

_What's he doing here? _

"Finally found you Naruto, what do you think you are doing?"

His tone was very angry. Neji had the chuunin as his sensei only once, and he had never seen him like that.

"Ano sa, ano sa, Iruka Sensei! I learned a jutsu from here, now you can graduate me right?" the hopeful tone in her voice made the teen dread the worst. _So she believed…no, I can't have imagined it, she knows for sure. _

"What? What do you mean graduate? You stole the sacred scroll of Sealing, the collection of strong and dangerous seals and justu written by the Fourth hokage!"

"Huh...the Yondaime? Wait..thats not the point here…Mizuki-sensei told me…to get it…and learn a justu..then I'll graduate.."

The look of disbelief mixed with horror seemed to have convinced Naruto, who had paled herself as well.

"So..he lied to me, and used me?"

Before anyone of them could say anything more, a figure behind then sneered.

"Congratulations on getting the correct answer, demon!"

Neji's eyes narrowed. There it was again, the look of loathing and hatred. Naruto was staring at him, the question plastered on her face. _Why…_

Mizuki laughed. It sent shivers down his spine.

"You wanna know why you are hated? Why no one loves you and never will?"

Neji froze. Apparently, so did the other two.

"NO! Mizuki, its forbidden!" yelled The scarred chuunin in panic.

"I don't care! I hate her! 12 years ago, on October 10th, the Kyuubi no Kitsune attacked Konoha. Do you like the date?" he leered down on the blonde, whose eyes had gone wide.

"M..my…birthday.."

_Her birthday? What does this…wait.._

"The Forth didn't kill the Kyuubi, no one can! He sealed it into you. YOU ARE THE DEMON FOX! You are the one who killed the shinobi, who killed lots of innocent people, who killed Iruka's parents! Iruka hates you too, Everyone hates you!"

Neji's mind had gone blank, his mouth open just a bit, in slight surprise. His eyes were wide.

_Now..it explains everything. They fear her, because they think she is the Kyuubi…most who hate her are civilians, they don't understand the art of sealing…and the shinobi..losing loved ones..people tend to try finding someone responsible..just like..like I did with Hinata-sama.._

He growled, hands balled into fists, veins popping around his eyes. Flashes of his time with Naruto played like a film in his mind. Her smiling face, her seriousness in training, the way she jumped up and down when she finished a kata, the way her eyes would sparkle with mirth when she told him she was preparing a surprise for him, the way she looked when he left on his first ever C- rank, the way she handled the glares, and ignored them, the way she stared up at the sky, dreaming of flying herself..

_Was it fate that she was chosen? Why…well, at least now I understand her a bit. Why she wants to become Hokage, to be acknowledged, to be loved…_

_She, like me has a seal that determines her fate, but even without knowing about it, she had always fought. That was why she could defeat me that day…Naruto…you truly are amazing._

"Konoha should be thankful to you for being the savior..if I were in your place, I would go the way of darkness. I had started on it, until you came and pulled me out. I am forever in your debt…" he whispered.

The sound a fuuma shuriken slicing through the air caught his attention, and his eyes snapped back to reality. Taking in the situation, and for the first time in his life, not thinking before acting, he threw himself into the fight, pining the frozen blonde girl under him protectively.

There was a loud SPLINCH.

The huge shuriken had grazed his back and flown to the side.

Neither Iruka nor Mizuki expected this.

Naruto, who was still frozen in shock, only now registered that someone had shielded her. Someone shorter then the chuunins. Someone, whose long dark hair made a curtain around them.

Her eyes widened and her mouth opened in a silent scream.

"N..Neji!"

_What..is he doing here..he...he knows..._

_He is going to hate me...t..ttebayo.._

For the second time in one day, she felt the tears sting her eyes, and she left them roam free across her face. The realization that she had a demon sealed inside her by her beloved Hokage, or the fact that Konoha belived she was the kitsune...none of them could compare to the pain the was feeling now. Like white hot knives had pierced her chest in one go...

_Why does the thought of Neji hating and despising me hurt so much more..i dont...understand..._

The boy grunted in pain, and leaning on his elbows, lifted his upper torso. His face was centimeters away from hers.

Then he leaned and whispered softly in her ear, at the same time, placing his right hand on her stomach, right where the seal was embedded.

"You were fated to be the one..to control him, i am sure..the Fourth Hokage had a reason. This is not a burden, and you..are no demon, Uzumaki Naruto."

Then he grudgingly hopped off, glaring at the silver haired man in front of him.

It had taken both chuunin a few minutes to get back to reality from their intense gaping.

* * *

><p>well, this was done a bit fast, hope i didnt disappoint anyone. review please, or i might lose heart again...<p>

or i will let loose kurama on you.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Naruto shifted uneasily in her bed, brow furred. It was nighttime, if the moonlight illuminating the dark room was any indignation. Behind the open windows, the stone faces of the Hokage were glaring down at the village, and the stone eyes of the Yondaime Hokage was were looking right in the direction of the small apartment, in which the girl was currently sleeping.

A drop of sweat slid down her forehead, going down her squinted eyes and into the pillow.

The small blonde turned in her sleep, rather forcefully, and ended up in a heap of blankets on the floor.

"Itai…", she grumbled, eyes still closed, and rubbing her bottom.

Slowly, she opened her eyes, taking in her surroundings.

_My room. Oh yeah..i was trying to sleep, ttebayo._

Rubbing one eye, she got up, dragging the sheets with her back to bed. It was then tat she noticed her window was open. The wind was blowing with so much force, that Naruto had catch, flatten and roll her hair in a tight bun.

_Kuso…_

After quickly closing it, she scrambled back to the warm bed, and draped the sheets around her.

"What a day….and I cant even get my deserved sleep!"

Her eyes fell on a headband on the small table beside her bed. It had a small metal plate with a leaf symbol engraved into it. The fabric was dark blue, and slightly worn out.

The sight of it made the girl smile, but it didn't last long. She looked down at her stomach, frowning a bit.

"The seal…."

**Flashback:**

Naruto couldn't believe it. She had successfully made it to the tower, passed the guards, and entered the secret library. Funny it was guarded with the same blood seal as the main Konoha library. Bu she had no time t think of those things, she had a much more important task to do. She was no idiot. (well, not as much as people thought her to be, ttabayo!..no wait, scratch that, she wasn't an idiot. Period.) She knew that something wasn't right in the whole thing Mizuki had told her, but this was also her last ever chance to graduate, and fulfill her dreams! And be with neji.. _wait, why is he popping in my mind! Go awa,y go away! Hmph! _

Trying to make as little noise as possible, she sneaked to the very back, where she knew the most important scrolls were kept.

The one she needed wasn't exactly hard to find, for it was put in the middle of a drawer, and it had the same blood seals around it.

Blinking once and willing the thought 'blood seals are very unoriginal..' to go away, she quickly smeared the leftover blood from the earlier bite on her thumb on the seals. They glowed blue for a moment, then disappeared. She quickly took the scroll, balanced for a few minutes (this thing was so heavy! And so big!) she started running to the exit, a triumphant grin plastered on her whiskered face.

Of course something just had to go wrong.

She found a confused Sandaime Hokage in his nightgown standing in front of her, both eyebrows raised.

She dropped the scroll.

_Think, think, think DATTEBAYO!_

She spotted an orange book badly hidden in the sleeve of the old man's gown.

A smirk appeared on her face.

"Gomenne jiji! Oiroke no jutsu!"

* * *

><p>She landed softly on the ground, and looked back.<p>

_I knew it. Jiji is a perv. _

Something prickled at the back of her head, making her nervous. She turned around, staring into the dark space of the Konoha forest.

An owl hooted.

_Im being paranoid. Nobody's there, ttebayo. I have work to !_

A figure watched her disappear into the woods, not realizing his jaw was uncharacteristically hanging open for the flies to be invited in.

Naruto stopped at a clearing and settled down on the ground. Trying to calm her adrenaline filled heart, she carefully opened the scroll.

She couldn't hide her surprise as she gasped out loud.

This loopy, handsome and incredibly_ girly_ handwriting was very familiar to her! This scroll was written by the same person who had written the notebook on seals! Her eyes were wide with excitement. Quickly she took out a scroll she had taken to carrying around since she started learning fuuinjutsu, took out a brush and quickly drew a small seal on it. It was pretty simple, and the first one she had seen in the notebook. It's purpose was to copy directly from another scroll. And that..was what she was doing now. But the scroll was small, thus she could only copy something the same size as it was. Since she was planning to learn the first justu here, then she would copy a jutsu from the end.

She heard shuffling around her, and looked around in worry. She had to hurry. Not quite reaching the very end of the huge scroll, she put the little scroll over a part, where an interactive seal was drawn, she placed her palm over it, and forming the half ram seal with the other hand, muttered _"Fuuin!"_

Hurriedly, she rolled it up and placed it in her pants pocket.

_Now, lets get to learning!_

After that, everything happened so fast. She learned the justu, which was a clone one, much to her annoyance, heard running and a flustered Iruka yelling at her. She remembered trying to explain it, while the thought of doubt that had always lingered at the back of her mind resurfaced with each word she tried to say, she remembered mizuki appearing, with a mad grin oh his face, she recalled her shaking and the fear that clawed at hear heart, the anger she felt, and truth tat left her standing there, paralyzed, unmoving. The only indication that she was still there was the breath that came out harsly, at thought tearing through the lungs, the barely visible shaking of her body, her face that had slowly paled and her eyes that were widened by the flashbacks she was having.

She wanted to deny it. She wanted to be a normal kid, who wanted to be a shinobi. She never asked for any of it.

She was a demon..

One who killed others.

One who killed Iruka's parents.

She never saw Iruka getting hurt, nor the flying fuuma shuriken, aimed at her.

When she had finally came back to her senses, she was lying on her back, and someone was on top of her. She didn't feel any pain, meaning the one who shielded her got hit.

But why, who would do that? She was a demon..a monster…

She felt something cold on her cheeks.

_Wet…am I crying?_

Ignoring the tears that were steadily flowing from her eyes to her hair and on the ground, she tried t focus .

Only then she noticed that the person on top of her was smaller then Iruka or Mizuki…and the fact that the person's long dark hair had fallen from the tie and had formed a curtain around their heads. Realization hit her.

She felt her eyes widening and her mouth opening in a silent scream.

"N..Neji!"

_What..is he doing here..he...he knows..._

_He must have heard everything. He knew she was a demon now.._

_He is going to hate me...t..ttebayo.._

Her eyes stung. She felt something cold on her cheeks.

_Wet…am I crying? N..nande…_

_ The dull pain in her chest increased tenfold. _The realization that she had a demon sealed inside her by her beloved Hokage, or the fact that Konoha belived she was the kitsune...none of them could compare to the pain the was feeling now. Like white hot knives had pierced her heart in one go...

For the first time in her life she had a person who had acknowledged her, treated her like a human being, became her dearest and most closest friend...and now, he will hate her, after all who would want to associate with a demon who murdered hundreds...

_Why does the thought of Neji hating and despising me hurt so much more..i dont...understand..._

_What is wrong with me…_

She felt him move. He was lifting himself on his elbows. Most of the weight on her disappeared.

She gulped, worry flooding her. He was injured! And because of her!

But before she could say anything, she felt him lower his head. At the same time, she felt a something warm touch her abdomen. This was where the seal was located. Now, after all the explanation she heard from Mizuki, she knew what the marks meant. Ever since starting to learn fuuinjutsu, she had always been curious. It had always appeared when she channeled chakra.

His breath fanned her neck as he whispered softly in her ear.

"You were fated to be the one..to control him, i am sure..the Fourth Hokage had a reason. This is not a burden, and you..are no demon, Uzumaki Naruto."

Relief filled her, and she teared up more, this time, letting them flow without regret, for they were tears of happiness. The hollow in her heart had disappeared with his words. Neji didn't think of her as a demon. She didn't care for others! _Let them think what they want, I am no demon…and he is beside me._

His lips grazed the tip of her ear and she saw his stand up and move away, Byakugan activated, jaw clenched and body already in the traditional Hyuuga taijutsu stance. His brows were furred and his breathing coming hard.

There was blood oozing from the gash on his back.

"Well, this is certainly entertaining, you have managed to brainwash the Hyuuga genius boy, you have talent, filthy kitsune!" yelled out the silver haired chuunin.

Naruto sat up and glared at him, inwardly frowning at her heart. _Neji said I was no demon, he doesn't think like that, so why..is my heart beating so fast?_

Trying to ignore it, she focused on the situation.

"You are a prejudiced idiot, who cant tell apart a scroll and the kunai sealed in it," stated the young teen with narrowed eyes, his byakugan focused on the enemy. Iruka's eyes widened slightly, but he smiled nevertheless.

"The fox is the one who killed innocent people, it's the fx that's a filthy demon. But Naruto isn't the fox, she is an aspiring ninja of Konohagakure, who will one day become Hokage!"

Naruto's head whipped around so fast that she was sure it had snapped. She was staring at her sensei with big teary blue eyes. The Hyuuga's eyes had softened, but other then that, he had given no indication that he had heard it.

The scarred chuunin gave a proud, thought a bit painful smile to the blonde.

"You are all idiots! I am going to kill you all, and leave with the sacred scroll! No one can stop me!" the silver haired man laughed maniacally.

Something in Naruto snapped. Seeing that her sensei was hurt, eyeing the bloody back of Neji, she finally understood.

"I WON"T LET YOU HURT NEJI OR IRUKA_SENSEI AGAIN!", she screamed, ees blazing in anger, and her blonde locks flying behind her.

"What can you do, demon? You are the dead-last of the lot! You cant even do one pitiful clone!"

"Whatever you fire at me..I'll give you back tenfold!"

She whipped her hands up and put her fingers in a cross seal. Neji smirked. Iruka's face showed confusion.

"Taijuu…Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

* * *

><p>Neji sweatdropped at the bloody pulp that was Mizuki curled up on the ground pitifully. Iruka was trying to come out of his shocked stupor.<p>

"Ehehe….i might have overdone it…", the blonde rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, a smile plastered on her face.

Neji rolled his eyes.

Iruka just slumped on the ground, leaning on a tree.

"Naruto, come here"

With one curious look at Neji, who had a small idea what was going on, but hid it by closing his eyes an leaning on another tree with his shoulder, she strolled over to the chuunin.

"Close your eyes"

Doing as she was told, she felt her hair being raised, and something cold on her forehead. Opening her eyes, she was greeted with a hiate less Iruka, smiling at her softly.

"Congratulations on graduating, gennin Uzumaki Naruto."

She had deathhugged the poor man then and there.

**Flashback end:**

A giggle escaped her as she turned around, burying her face in her pillow.

_Neji…he had saved me that day..and he.._

She blushed deep red as she recalled how he whispered in her ear, and how warm and fuzzy she felt when he touched her stomach..

_Get a grip Uzumaki Naruto! He is Neji.._

Thrashing around in frustration and messing the blanket a bit more, she slumped, hitting her head on the pillow.

After Iruka had presented her with the hiate, he had left, saying he had to hand in a report. Naruto had argued with him that he needed to go to the hospital, get the wounds treated, but the chuunin had declined. Turns out they were just numerous little cuts from the ninja string, nothing serious and it could be treated at home. Before he had left, however, he had given them a weird look.

"I didn't know you two knew each other, and were friends…take good care of our troublemaker, Neji" and with a wink, he had gone, leaving an overly confused Naruto rubbing her head, and a blushing Neji.

"Why are you red? Are you sick?" Naruto had put her hand on his forehead, making him back away, swatting her hand away in the process.

"I am fine," he had said, turning his back to her and heading out.

"You know, Hinata has that desease too, she always turns red, especially if Kiba is around, or when she is talking to me.."the blonde grumbled, making the boy sigh.

"Eh? What's wrong? Wait…your back! We need to get you to the hospital!"

He turned to glare at her.

"Its just a scratch! And I will not go to the hospital"

He had found himself being yawnked by the blonde.

"Oy, Neji teme! You got hurt cos of me, i…" her voice trailed away.

The boy sighed, then looked at her seriously.

"I couldn't and wouldn't let you get hurt"

The fluttering in her chest increased.

"Don't worry, I am fine, we had better get you home, its late."

"What? You need to go first, I will get back just fine!"

A raised eyebrow was the only answer she got, and she still didn't have her way, for he had just grabbed her sleeve and was dragging her out of the woods.

Neji had walked her to her apartment complex. This was where she had given him an unexpected, fast hug and a whispered 'arigatou'. After that she had ran home, closing the door behind her with a snap and sinking o the floor, her face all red, and heart pounding.

As she remembered this, her heart started beating fast again.

_Damn…am I sick? I need to cure this, I cant go to missions with such distractions! And I have to take the picture tomorrow! I need t sleep…_

She really didn't want to think of the fact that Neji had demanded her to come to their training ground after it, and that was the reason why she wanted to get up so early. No way in Hashirama's left….anyway, that just wasn't it.

He had said they needed to discuss some things. Naruto knew the talk will be about the Kyuubi. Her heart sank. She was scared for some reason, but she wasn't sure of what exactly.

Plus she had made him promise to tell all about his mission….and he, in return had made her promise to tell him the 'surprise'.

Turning her head, and resting her cheek on the pillow, the blonde drifted off to sleep, thoughts of a certain lavender eyed boy filling her mind again.

After meeting him she couldn't have a decent dream that didn't involve him in a way or another.

* * *

><p><strong>i know this is going slow, but i dont want to rush anything. so patience my friends. ;) review to tell me what you think, and i will wave mah wand, making Neji appear in your dreams too. <strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Perfect, dattebayo!", she exclaimed in pure satisfaction as she drew the last line on her face." Jiji is in for such a surprise!"

Jumping up and down in front or the mirror, she gave herself a thumbs up and a nod, then grabbing her orange jacket, jumped out of the window, scaring the old woman walking with her grandchild right under it.

The photographer had stared at her for 5 long minutes, during which the blonde had fidgeted nervously with the hem of her jacket, which reached halfway to her knees. It was always a bit big for her, but she loved it nonetheless. It was a girt from Sarutobi on her 7th birthday. She had 3 sets of them, along with her other (mostly orange) clothes.

"Come on ossan! Take the picture already…,"grumbled the girl, making the man sweatdrop.

"Are you…sure.."

"Hai!"

"Positive? I mean…what if you change your mind…"

"I WON'T, DATTEBAYO!", Naruto yelled on top of her voice, making the birds settled on the roof and trees take off in fright.

_Er…oops?_

CLICK!

Rubbing the face paint off her face with her sleeve, Naruto hopped from roof to roof, till she reach the Hokage tower, smirking in a extraordinary 'uchihaish' way.

The Third Hokage resisted the urge to facepalm as he stared from the smirking little orange obsessed girl, who was practically bouncing, to the picture in his hand.

This was supposed to be her shinobi ID…

_What am I going to do with her? Why…did she just have to have Kushina's personality and Minato's wit?_

In the picture, her face was decorated with bright red swirly designs, going from her temples to her forehead, then down the side of her face to the nape of her neck. She had even outlined her whisker marks.

"Ano sa, Jiji, you like it right? I spent a few whole hours on it!"

He raised his head and seeing her radiate so much energy and happiness, smiled slightly, lowering his pipe.

"It is..unique. Well, it seems I will have to accept it now."

"Yosh!"

"Naruto…why are you wearing those goggles? Where is your hiatai-ate?", the aged man asked, curious. After all, this particular pre-teen in front of him was full of surprises, which never ceased to amaze him.

"Well, you see Saru-jiji…", she looked up and tapped the lime green goggles with a finger, smiling,".. after not wearing them for over a year I decided to honor them and wear them one more time, before I officially discard them into the 'to be opened in10 years' list.."

_To be opened in 10 years?_

The Hokage raised an eyebrow, amused.

"..that, and I don't want to dirty Iruka sensei's old hiate, ttebayo!", she smirked, staring at Sarutobi, who leaned back in his chair, sighing.

"I'M GOING TO DEFEAT YOU,OLD MAN!"

Naruto heard a crash, and turned around to see a dust cloud. The Hokage scowled, puffing his cheeks and sinking further into his chair.

_This is going to be a long day…_

And so it did, as a few hours later, he was rewarded with a severe nosebleed.

Jiraya would have said he deserved it for peeping. Which it _wasn't_. He was merely checking on the wellbeing of his grandson and his diseased successor's daughter.

* * *

><p>Neji really needed to do something about his most recent problem-his lack of sleep, which was evident with the dark circles under his eyes, the random headaches and the fact that a small blond seemed to occupy his mind all day AND night.<p>

_I need a break…_

Last night was especially difficult in many ways. The revelations were a bit hard to accept for him, he was trying to deny everything.

He wasn't referring to the fact that his friend and constant annoyance was the Kyuubi vessel. No, he had accepted that then and there, and he had helped her.

He leaned on the tree, lowering his head, hands crossed over his chest.

He knew he should have done it some other way, ANY other way, except the one he did. He had thrown himself over her. Sure it was to protect her, for she had frozen and needed encouragement. But _nooo_, he just had to make it worse.

His cheeks reddened.

_I had nearly….wait, I just whispered in her ear, so that the others wont hear. Nothing else! There is nothing else there, Hyuuga Neji, get a grip!_

But deep down, he knew it was a lie. And his frantically beating heart was telling him just that, as well as his conscience…secretly sprouting thoughts like '_but you liked it, you weren't disgusted like when other females are around you' _passed through his mind.

He shook his head.

Girls were useless. And Naruto, she is dense, no manners at all, a tomboy who dresses in overlarge clothing, eats like there is no tomorrow.. (he had seen that once, whe she was sitting with Iruka, and had had several nightmares afterword)..

_And that's what makes her special. She isn't like them.._

"..-ji, oy Neji!"

His eyes snapped back to attention.

Tenten was waving her hand in front of him,dark brown eyes showing concern.

_Naruto's eyes are the color of the sea…_

His eyes widened. He needed to stop thinking of the Uzumaki! This was unhealthy. Maybe he needed to go to the hospital? Or talk to the Hyuuga medic nins? He knew for sure this wasn't normal. He used to be so reserved, calm, collected, but since that girl appeared in his life, it was like he was plucked in a world of chaos!

_Calm down._

"Yes?", his voice was cool, void of emotion. _Much better._

Tenten glared at him.

"I have been trying to get your attention for whole 10 minutes, Neji!"

She was fingering her kunai. Neji's eyes focused on the potential treat. He knew the kunoichi could beat up almost anyone when angry. He, of course, didn't go into the category. Gai and Lee, however, were the first two on it.

"I was just sorting some of my thoughts out." Not a lie,"did you want to inform me of something?"

The girl smiled.

"Gai sensei said to take the day off."

_Really? Unexpected, but nevertheless, good news. I have to know what surprise was the Uzumaki planning, after all._

He refused to believe the nagging voice at the back of his head that he simply missed her and wanted to see her, check if she was ok.

A chibi Neji in his head squished and kicked that thought, which kept resurfacing with much more force.

_Great, now I am going crazy. What is wrong with me, tou-sama? Will it be all right, to consult Hiashi-sama?_

He sighed inwardly, then turned his head to the right. Tenten was already facing that way, laughing slightly. The sounds of hitting a tree and huffing could have been heard from a mile around.

"Lee…he decided to train in his spare time today, to surpass you."

Neji snorted. In the past he would have said something like 'It's fated that he will always be a loser' or something along the same lines, but Naruto had taught him otherwise. Now, he was sure that maybe one day, on pure taijutsu, Lee could beat him. Gai had insanely strong tajutsu, and was already teaching the smaller green clad boy some of the special, dangerous elements.

_Who knows…_

Unknowingly a small smile was plastered on his face, as he watched his fellow teammate, friend and rival kick the tree's backside.

He heard a gasp. Turning around, he found himself facing Tenten, with a very peculiar expression on her face, akin to surprise, disbelief and deep down, relief and happiness.

Que raised eyebrow.

"You have changed. You weren't like this in the academy. Those changes, all the team noticed, and we are all very glad."

By this time, somehow Lee was standing beside her, sweaty, still huffing, but the ever-present grin shining brightly (he squinted his eyes in caution, what if he was blinded!) as he had youthfully given him a tap on the shoulder.

"You know I would even kiss the one who made you see the light again." The bun haired girl proclaimed, and Lee nodded, enthusiastically.

"Your flames of youth are truly shining brightly on us Neji kun!"

Hyuuga Neji was stunned. He had never expected his teammates to be so…observant. They had known his story of the Hyuuga seal and the kidnapping, everyone in his academy class did, and he was an arrogant prick then, thinking everyone was inferior to him and he was the best. He doubted there was anyone more conceited then that.

In the Uchiha training ground a certain duck-butt haired boy (as another blonde simply loved to put it), sneezed. The poor wooden dummy was burned into a crisp seconds later.

Though a Naruto would always say he was still an arrogant prick, just not to that degree. After all, he had started making friends and believing that fate could be overcome.

He smiled. The other two beamed.

A sudden green blur tackled all three to the ground.

"Aww, my dearest gennin, you are so full of YOUTH, let us have a group hug then!"

Que waterfall of tears and a very weird genjutsu.

The trio backed away from their slightly crazy sensei.

"So, Neji-kun! Who is the person whose power of youth changed you from a corrupted young man to a delightful bearer of YOUTH?"

_I..am getting a permanent eye twitch, _he thought, as his right hand through his long hair. Throwing one last look at the three, two of whom were in a hugging session, much to the unhidden disgust of the third, he slipped away.

Later that day, the rest of Team Gai would realize that the boy hadn't answered the question.

Lee had them proclaimed that with the power of youth he will find the person, and Tenten had agreed with him. Gai had tried to group hug again.

He was seen flying like a bird through the sky, a few kunai stuck in his butt.

He had landed right in front a certain silver haired jounin.

_Damn you, Kakashi!_

Thus, operation 'Stalk Neji" had begun.

* * *

><p>He ran through the Konoha forest, to the other end of the village. That was where training ground 7 was located. His long hair was flying behind him in a rhythm, his eyes were calm and focused. He had sensed her chakra way back and was lightly frowning at that fact. Maybe they needed to find a way of masking chakra. He would have to consult the Hyuuga library later. She was releasing enormous amounts. He was curious and slightly worried.<p>

_What is that idiot up to now?_

Jumping on the ground, he took in the sigh t in front of him. About a dozen shadow clones had burst into existence around her, clouding her, a small black haired boy and a tall man with sunglasses in amass of white smoke.

_He is a jounin. I have seen him around the Hokage Tower a few times. Didn't Gai say that he was personally training the Hokage's grandson?_

He narrowed his eyes.

_Was he the mentioned grandson then? What is Naruto doing with them?_

He had a very bad feeling in his gut. His eyes widened as the smoke cleared.

The teen closed his eyes tightly and looked away, flushing deeply.

The naked girls swooned around the jounin, making him sprout blood from his nose and promptly faint.

_Pervert! And Naruto, what the hell is she doing?_

He glared angrily at the blonde, who was busy boasting to the kid that that was the way the justu was done.

_Oh no…don't tell me.._

He wanted to hit his head on something right at that moment. But he resisted the temptation, focusing his attention back to the duo, who were currently seated on a fallen tree trunk.

"Why do you want to defeat the Hokage so much? Isn't he your grandpa?"

_So this is the grandson. One question answered, another one occured..is this situation to be considered as 'good', 'bad' or terrible?'_

"He named me after the village, Konohamaru. Everyone knows me as 'The Hokage's grandson'. No one calls me by my name..that's why I want to be Hokage and defeat him! I don't want to be in his shadow, I want to be know as Sarutobi Konohamaru!"

Neji hummed, his anger somewhat forgotten.

_Interesting._

"There is no shortcut of becoming Hokage. You must train hard, its wont happen in just a minute. You have to be strong to take responsibility for everyone in the village, regardless of what they think of you."

_She is referring to the Kyuubi and the fact that they hate her. She hasn't given up her dream then._

His eyes shone proudly as he watched his blonde give a life talk to the kid.

_Wait..MY? No..go back you stupid thoughts, go back!_

He was loosing it again.

"Just remember, train hard, and then, one day we will fight for the hat, for my dream is to become Hokage as well, Konohamaru!"

She was standing, her fist pumped in the air and (even though he was only seeing her from the back, he somehow felt it) a huge grin on her face.

Neji looked at the small boy. He looked ridiculous in the helmet. And sort of reminded him of..._Naruto._

_Figures those two would find each other._

He snickered slightly.

The boy, Konohamaru had yelled that Naruto was no longer his boss, but his rival, then ran to the opposite direction.

After the boy disappeared, he decided to make his presence known. Noiselessly jumping right behind her, he casually growled out.

"What..did I tell you about using that jutsu of yours! And now, you even go and teach it to a brat!"

He smirked as he saw her jump in surprise and whirl around to face him.

It was a wonder how a girl who could have a fierce glare of a dragon looked like a cornered lamb now.

His smirk widened.

Oh, he really loved teasing her.

Ba~dump!

_No, why did the disease have to resurface now! Go away, heart stop this now!_

* * *

><p><strong>mistakes fixed guys. im moving on to random chaps and checking for typos. ja<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Now, Uzumaki Naruto wasn't scared, heck no she wasn't! This was only Hyuuga Neji. She tried hard to forget that he had threatened her with ramen if she ever did the Oiroke no jutsu again. He had witnessed its creation, and had gotten really angry. At what, she had no idea. Neji wouldn't hurt her.

The evil aura around him and the evil red glint in his eye said otherwise.

She gulped.

"Eh….hey Neji!", she chirped in an awfully fake, cheerful tone.

That didn't fool the boy.

Naruto took a step back.

_Neji can be scary when he wants to. Should I run? Wait..why is he red?_

Curiosity overtook her fear and she placed a hand on his forehead. The aura disappeared instantly.

"Eh, Neji, are you sick? You are all red.."

The boy swatted her hand away in annoyance and looked away.

"Maybe I am…", he muttered under his breath.

The girl didn't hear it though. After a few minutes, during which the blonde girl was pondering weather to fear for her life or not, Neji, putting on the indifferent maska gain, stared at her.

"Well?", he demanded.

Naruto looked down, shuffling one foot.

"Er…well, Konohamaru kind of followed me and asked me to teach him the jutsu..Wait Neji, don't get angry! He only wanted to defeat Jiji! And how could i refuse when I had such an awesome jutsu under my wing!"

The smile was back on her face and she was staring at him expectedly.

Neji's eye twitched.

"Are you trying to tell me…that _that _jutsu defeated the Hokage?" he countered, disbelief evident in his narrowed eyes.

The girl nodded.

_So the Sandaime is a pervert..as well? What is wrong with all Konoha shinobi! Why are they all perverts!_

"Don't use it again. You hear me, Uzumaki!"

Said girl fumed.

"Why not! It is great when defeating perverts!"

"Don't you realize..that you are…gah, never mind. You are just an idiot not to understand such trivial things", he said smugly.

Naruto balled her fists.

"Take that back you bastard!"

Neji just waved her away with one hand. He could almost see the vein popping on her forehead. Come to think of it…where did she get those goggles? He hadn't seen her wear any during the year he had known her.

"You graduated. Why aren't you wearing your hitai-ate?"

The anger vanished from the blonde girl as she smiled proudly. This made him want to smile as well.

"Well, I used to wear them before I met you, so today I am going to honor those goggles for the last time! After that, I will always wear my hiate!", she proclaimed.

Neji laughed.

"Ne, ne Neji! You promised t tell me all about your mission!"

She was pointing an accusing finger at her.

_She has no manners whatsoever…_

"Yes, I did. Did you train your chakra control while I was away? That was part of the bargain…"

He saw her fidget. She hadn't trained, that much he knew for sure. But why?

"Well, some stuff came up…", she mumbled, looking anywhere but at him. After all, she didn't want him to know she was researching seals just yet.

The young Hyuuga sighed, rubbing his temples. This girl was his constant headache.

"Well, then get to practicing. No excuses. And I don't care that tomorrow is your gennin inauguration ", he said casually and plucked a few leafs from a nearby tree.

"Here, ill show you the simplest chakra control exercise. It seems that the one I had showed you is more of nature manipulation then chakra control. Since you suck at both, this one should do it. I am positive you didn't pay attention when your sensei was telling you about it"

He turned around to see a murderous aura around Naruto. He smirked.

_I really love getting her all riled up. She is incredibly funny and easy to tease. Wait, why am I thinking these things again!_

He strode over to her and promptly stuck a leaf on her forehead. The now confused girl calmed down.

"Whaa.."

"You have to keep the leaf hovering a few inches over your forehead with your chakra. Too much, it will be blown away, too little, it won't rise. Now get to work."

After the monologue, he sat on the grass, leaning on a tree trunk, closed his eyes and started hovering the leaf himself.

The girl gaped.

"Why are you doing it too? Don't you know it already?"

"Without opening his eyes, or losing control, Neji answered smoothly.

"Chakra control exercises are always beneficial, no matter what rank or age you are"

_Plus I have nothing more to do at this moment, and I need to get the information of your 'surprise' out of you._

"Right. Well, ill try it then, ttebayo!"

They sat like that for a few hours. The sun was already setting, and Neji, even with his eyes closed, could almost feel the reddish rays slowly disappear behind the horizon.

Picking the still floating leaf from above his head, he opened his eyes.

Naruto was slumped over another tree, right beside him, hands balled into fists, eyes screwed up in concentration. Even after 3 hours, the she still couldn't keep up a normal flow. The leaf kept dropping and rising.

But at least she wasn't giving up.

He snorted. For the whole time he knew her, and even before that when he witness her screaming on top of her lungs that she was going to be Hokage, he knew she wasn't one to give up.

He knew she had a lot of chakra, and that was without counting the kyuubi's. That was why her control was so bad. Naturally, females had better control, but that was mostly due to the fact that they had very little chakra. Naruto, however, had more then most jounin.

He shook his head in wonder. She really was something.

The leaf finally stopped jerking back and forth and settled 2 inches above her head.

He saw her smile and mutter a barely audile 'ttebayo'.

He smiled as well. She did it.

_Good job, Naruto._

It seemed that she wanted t practice more, and was oblivious to her surroundings. He decided it was safe to observe her.

Slowly, without making any noise, he crawled closer to her, sitting with his legs under him (the traditional Hyuuga posture, the habit engraved into him by his father and uncle).

Her overlarge jumpsuit was making her look even smaller then she was. He noticed it was worn.

_It will be ruined on her first real mission. If she passes the exam her jounin sensei gives her, of course._

He watched her eyebrows fur, concentration ebbing away from her. Her hands folded themselves on her lap, fingers touching. The leaf fluttered but stayed there.

_She is getting better. This is almost like the meditative stance. _

He observed the way her whisker marks would quirk when she smiled or grimaced.

His hand moved automatically, but his brain registered at nearly the last moment what he was doing.

His finger stopped right beside her cheek. His hear fluttered.

He exhaled.

_What is wrong with me…_

After berating himself, he risked another look at the blonde. She was the cause of all those strange things happening to him lately.

Her spiky blonde mop of hair was shadowing her closed eyes. The bangs were falling on the weird green goggles.

_It couldn't, wouldn't hurt, right? After all I didn't really pay attention that day, I was busy glaring at the traitor Mizuki…_

Deeming this a normal, plausible explanation, and ignoring his heart, which had started beating fast, he moved both his hands around her, stopping at the base of her neck.

His arm brushed against her shoulder.

The leaf fell.

Blue eyes opened so stare at widened milky white ones.

"N..Neji? What are you doing, datteba..yo.."

* * *

><p>"What IS he doing?" screamed Tenten, her eyes wide as she stared at the scene infolding in front of her eyes.<p>

"Yosh! Seems the flames of youth of our dear Neji-kun have finally risen! I need to c-"

A hand clasped over his mouth, and Tenten dragged him back.

"Urusai!"

"But Tenten-chan.."

"Look! What's he doing now isn't the birth of flames of youth! Neji is a hidden pervert!"

"His flames of youth have just.."

SPLASH!

"Did Neji-kun just…"

"No way…"

The figure they were following turned to stare at their direction with confused, lilac white eyes.

"Rock Lee…I am going to KILL you! Does he LOOK like Neji to you?"

The green clad boy was speechless.

Hyuuga Ogichi didn't have the time to marvel at the weird choking noises coming from the nearby bushes, because at that moment, he ad a mob of very angry women running at him with murder in their eyes. Fearing for his life, he ran. He knew one thing. He was NEVER coming to the onsen again!

Plan C went into the nonexistent trashcan along with Plan A and B.

* * *

><p>Neji froze, his hand still on the base of her neck. It felt warm.<p>

Those cerulean eyes he loved so much where staring up at him with confusion and..fear?

"I merely want to see your hair", he stated, inwardly cheering that his voice didn't shake. He willed the fluttering of his chest to go away. What _was _he doing anyway? This was illogical!

"Huh? Naze?"

Without explaining, Neji carefully started untying the knot, which was always hidden behind her spiky sun-kissed hair. Naruto had frozen, and Neji suspected she was afraid to move. But why?

Naruto froze. The hands on the back of her neck started untying her hair. And she couldn't do anything to prevent it! Half of her wanted to push him away, and the other half..liked it?

She stared at his chest, which was the only thing directly in front of her eyes, glaring slightly at his white shirt.

_White is a pretty color._

His breath fanned her neck as he worked through the tough knot ( she took unusually long time to tame her hair into it, after all), and her cheeks flushed. Her heart started beating uncontrollably. His hands felt warm. She couldn't deny it, she liked the touch. And it scared her to death.

Finally, her hair went loose. She sighed and backed away, standing up in the process and dusting herself, just for the sake of having something to do with her hands. She cautiously looked up. He was standing as well, head tilted slightly to the left, his lavender eyes on her.

She blushed again. What she didn't notice was his flushed expression and the amazement in his eyes.

Neji was awed. He had resisted the urge to gape. Her hair flowed freely, reaching under her waist. Her spiked bangs framed her face, and the short spikes blended with the long strands. A few loose spikes right on top of her head stayed as they were, defying gravity. But he had to admit, it suited her like no other.

"What! I don't get it! What's wrong with you! Do you know how long it takes to put my hair up again? Tch ttebayo! An-"

"Your hair is beautiful.. Why do you hide it?", he interrupted in a soft voice. Naruto failed to notice that. She just laughed. Neji raised an eyebrow.

"So, I should take this as a compliment? ", she sniggered, her unease vanishing.

_What..is she.._

"Well, after all, you ARE a hair obsessed..-"

His jaw dropped. _Is she insulting me?_

"..prick, who waists a few hours on his hair." Naruto smirked, watching with excitement as a muscle moved on Neji's jaw.

_He is angry, hehehehe!_

Her eyes widened. Neji wondered if he had imagined a huge light bulb on top of her head.

The Uzumaki girl moved closer.

Neji stilled.

"Well…if you got to touch my hair, then I get to touch yours, ttebayo!"

The young Hyuuga's eyes widened.

Naruto smirked ferally and ran at him.

She found herself face first on the grass seconds later and looked p to see a smirking Neji above her.

He raised his finger and scolded her.

_Hmph, just you wait Hyuuga Neji-teme!_

As she picked herself from the ground, Neji folded his arms around his chest.

"Come on, its rather late, and you have to wake up early tomorrow."

"Fine, fine", grumbled the girl, tying her hair up in a bun. His hand grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

He looked at her pointedly.

"Hmph. Fine. You are such a pain in the ass, Neji-teme"

She let go of her hair, and crossed her arms, pouting. He laughed.

"So, what is this surprise you were talking about before I left for the mission?"

They stopped. Naruto looked at him.

"Well, if you tell me how your mission went, ill tell you the surprise, dattebayo!"

Nejo nodded, and turned to the direction of her apartment.

"And I'm hungry."

He groaned.

This was going to be a long day.

* * *

><p>review please :) and excuse me for the mistakes. maybe i really should reread what i write. anyways, the sasuke kiss episode coming up next. now..to do it, or not? xD<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Ichiraku Teuchi knew he was old, and not in the best health, but he knew one thing, his eyes weren't betraying him now. Ayame wasn't at the ramen stand today, she had a few things to do. But Teuchi knew when he told her what exactly was going on, she would certainly scream at the closest wall, even hit it, wishing to be here as well.

Well, this was interesting to say the least. His eyes quirked upwards in a smile as he watched the pair, one slurping her ramen noisily and the other eating with reserved dignity and pride, trying not to pay attention to the eating habits of his companion.

"-..was to deliver a scroll to the Land of Wood."

"Eh? Where is that?"

Teuchi watched the boy, a Hyuuga, judging from his eyes, sigh. The blonde girl surely asked a lot of questions. He chuckled, going back t cleaning the already clean pan. He would never admit it, but he was curious. Plus Naruto always shared her stories with him and Ayame, so he had developed a rather bad habit of listening to conversations, especially if the young blonde was involved in some way.

"A few hundred miles to the north of Konoha. It's a very small country. On our way we encountered a group of thugs. They weren't shinobi, but they still wanted the scroll."

"So you guys kicked some ass, right? Wasn't Lee great in taijutsu? And the girl, Tenten, you know the one that likes yo-.."

Teuchi surpassed a chuckle as the boy nearly dropped the noodles from his chopsticks.

"She does not," the boy coughed," don't you want to listen to the story? If you continue with the unnecessary interruptions, I will not continue it."

The old man turned just in time to see the blonde jinchuuriki pout and stuff her face with noodles. Somehow she had muttered a 'fine, you bastard' through her mouthful.

She was so much like her mother.

"As you put it, we did 'kick some ass'. The scroll was for someone named Fuu. She was a weird girl. Before we left, however, we were ambushed. It seemed that those thugs wanted some revenge. They were samurai, and since none of us, except Tenten and Gai sensei knew how deadly a katana could be.."

The boy trailed away. Teuchi watched Naruto's eyes bulge out in worry, her ramen forgotten.

"What happened?"

"Well", the Hyuuga paused for effect. This pissed Naruto off.

Teuchi was quite enjoying himself just by watching those two. Oh, Ayame didn't know what she was missing!

"We fought. Lee got hurt though, his arm was slashed. We killed them."

The Ichiraku owner, even though being a civilian, interacted with shinobi on daily basis, and he knew what the first kill meant. He saw Naruto give him a short hug.

"Killing is part of a shinobi. My father and uncle both taught me that, later we were told in the academy, but I still couldn't imagine it, before now. This guilt will never go away."

"The fact that you are feeling guilt, proves that you are not a killing monster, Neji. Plus…well, think of it this way, you didn't kill innocent people, right? They deserved it. In our world, isn't it better to die, then live knowing how much of a foul person you are..wait..what am I saying.."

Teuch saw the boy give a small smile to the girl, who was currently hitting herself for being careless and tactless.

"Are you done? Lets go."

The boy, Neji, proceeded to drag Naruto out of the stand.

"Noo, my ramen, ttebayo! Lemme go Neji-baka!"

The stand owner sweatdropped, as he watched them disappear.

Well, things certainly were interesting.

* * *

><p>Naruto glared heatedly at the figure walking a few steps ahead of her. Said figure turned around with a raised eyebrow, calmly waiting for her to catch up.<p>

"My ramen!"

"I am not a refilling bag of ryuo, Naruto"

"Pfff..ttebayo"

"I did my part of the bargain. Now, its your turn", he stated.

Naruto forgot her anger and her ramen. She just grinned and grabbing his bandaged hand, ran towards her apartment.

_So..this surprise is in the apartment? _, Neji pondered, looking around. The place was rather small, but cosy. It gave off the feeling of home, something that the enormous Hyuuga compound didn't.

The main door led to the kitchen. He noticed several ramen cups here and there, but other then that, it was clean. Something he truly didn't expect of the blonde.

His gaze turned to the door Naruto was currently opening. It was her bedroom. The walls were faded white, and slightly peeling off. It was evident the building was quite old. The bed was in a corner, the white sheets (_white? I expected orange..) _folded at the base of it, beside the pillow. His gaze turned to the floor.

He sweatdropped.

Naruto chuckled nervously and began picking up the stray socks and orange shirts from the ground.

It was a mess. But most of said mess were scrolls and books. He bed down to pick up one of them.

_History of the Hidden Continents: Konohagakure no Sato_

This was the book he had checked out of the library for her long time ago. So she was still reading it? He had to admit, it was written good, but rereading it? Reading a book once is enough. Who reread books anyway?

A silver haired jounin sneezed over the file he was holding. The glared at the picture attached to it, as though it was its fault. The red swirly marks and the weird animalistic glare made the back of his hair stand up. He sneezed again

Neji turned the book over to the page it was marked. His eyebrows raised. The paragraph was about The Yondaime, and his gennin team.

_Namikaze Minato, being a genius, became a jounin at 15, and had officially taken a gennin team. _

_Rin, last name unknown. After the end of the third great shinobi war (the battle at Kannabi Bridge, where Team Minato became famous), she was killed in a mission, protecting a scroll containing valuable information. The scroll was later delivered back to Konoha by her former teammate._

_Uchiha Obito, diseased uncle of Uchiha Sasuke. He had died a hero's death at the battle of Kannabi Bridge. The details regarding his death are not widely known. His name can be found on the Memorial stone, located in training ground 7, which was always the place were 'team 7' trained._

_Hatake Kakashi, son of the diseased Hatake Sakumo. The only living member of Team Minato. He had gained his nicknames 'Shanringan no Kakashi and Copy-cat ninja' after the battle of Kannabi Bridge. Hatake Kakashi is known to have copied over a 1000 jutsu, and has a 'kill on sight' command in the bingo book. After the death of his teammates, Hatake Kakashi never took on a gennin team, the reasons are unknown._

_Minato Namikaze. The jounin sensei of Team Minato, funijutsu master, Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure. He was proclaimed as a hero, saving the village from the Nine Tailed Demon Fox. The day he died was later turned into a a holiday. The Kyuubi Namikaze had a 'flee on sight' command in the bingo book, and he was feared throughout the shinobi continents. He had earned himself the nickname of Kiroi Senkou, Yeloow Flash, due to his pried technique, the Hiraishin, which hasn't been seen after his death. No information regarding his family can be disclosed._

What…

"Eh, Neji, what are you doing?"

The question caught him off guard, as he snapped his attention to Naruto, who was standing a few feet away, a bunch of scrolls tucked in her arms.

"Nothing, just found an interesting paragraph."

"That book is great, right? I am rereading it the third time, ttebayo!"

_Third time and she still doesn't notice that some of the words and sentences are off?_

He rolled his eyes and placed the book on her bed.

"So.."

"Oh, right! Well, remember how the first time you showed me the library? And well, you sneaked into the jounin part?"

He did. That was where that particular book he had just been reading came from.

"Well, I waited for a time when you would be away..and well tried to sneak in myself. I wanted to find something on seals. And well, this cat had appeared, and I was backing away, mind you, it scared me to hell! It even had a red ribbon on the ear, like a devi, tebayo!"

By this time she had dropped her scrolls and was waving her arms around to emphasize the point.

Neji frowned. Why would she need seals? Did she want to find out more about the seal that kept the kyuubi at bay? That would be logical..

He waited for her to continue.

"..and well, I kind of dropped inside a hidden room. No one can get in there, only me! At first I had no idea why, but then, after I read a few things on fuuinjutsu, I guessed it was a blood seal. Can you believe it? I still haven't figured out why it was my blood that opened it, but still! The room was filled with everything about seals! There were really huge scrolls!"

Neji was surprised, but he hid it quickly.

_Blood seal? That explains it. I had seen that door. So the weird black markings with chakra around them were seals. Hmm_

_Her blood opened it. Someone from her family must have known about seals._

"So, you started learning fuuinjutsu." It wasn't a question. Her nod confirmed it.

Neji was proud, and he showed it. He knew little about fuuinjutsu, after all, there was a seal on him. And he knew how difficult it was. She really was amazing.

"Uhum! I know how to do simple storage seals and some exploding tags! I can even change the power and range of the explosion! And well, the copying seal too..but that's fairly new.."

_What.._

Seeing his questioning gaze, she complied, looking at her feet.

"I know you had been there..that day I took the scroll of sealing. I only managed to take it from the shelf, cos it my blood unlocked those blood seals protecting it."

_So that scroll was protected. But wasn't it written by the Yondaime?_

"Well, then I kind of recognized the handwriting in the scroll, I was really surprised there, ttebayo!"

Neji recalled the expression on her face when she had opened the scroll.

_Interesting._

"It was the same as the one in the notebook I found! Wait I'll show you", she dropped the scrolls on the bed and dug a small, battered notebook from under her pillow.

Neji was amused. Only she would think of hiding important things there.

She really was something.

Naruto opened it at a random page, and brought it right in front of Neji's face.

After backing away slightly, he took in the handwriting.

It was a very elegant script, clearly belonging to someone who was very good in calligraphy.

"It's _girly, _isn't it?", Naruto laughed.

Neji felt his eye twitch again.

That was piece of fine work, she wouldn't understand the beauty and the excessive charm the handwriting had!

"Well,", she closed the notebook and stuffed it back where it was hidden. Neji thought he caught something green under the pillow.

"..and then Iruka-sensei said that it belonged to the Yondaime! That means that the notebook was his, ttebayo! Who would have thought he had such a girly handwriting! Hehehe!"

"Hm." Neji sat on the floor, eyes closed."Fuunijutsu is incredibly difficult and not many manage as much as you can now. I am proud of you." He opened one eye to see her blushing in embarrassment. A smirk appeared on his face.

"But I do understand why. In a few years it might be crucial for you to know about the seal containing the kyuubi. So..-"

"Chotto matte! Who said tat was the reason I wanted to learn fuuninjutsu in the first place?" came an angry voice.

Perplexed, the Hyuuga boy opened his eyes. Naruto was glaring at him, hands on her hips.

_That's not the reason? Why then?_

"I did it so I can take that stupid seal off you! Or at least change its properties or something, dattebayo! And you are called a genius? Pff…" with the she turned around, gathering all the scrolls and dumping them in a pile in the corner.

_Neji was stunned. This…this was…Could she really do it? For him? But why?_

His heart filled with warmth he was sure had nothing to do with the temperature. He smiled. The blonde, however, missed it. When she had turned around, Neji was already on his feet, the calm, indifferent look back on his face.

"You should get some sleep."

"Hai, hai, wakkatta, dattebayo! "

She was still full of energy.

Neji walked across the room and opened the window. Before leaving, he turned a uttered a small."Arigatou.."

With a blink, he vanished.

A smile started slowly appearing on Naruto's face. It turned into a full blown grin in seconds.

She jumped on the bed, hugging her Gama plushy to death.

* * *

><p>Hyuuga Hiashi by no means was a cruel man. Circumstances just tended to make one do and say things that will be regretted later.<p>

The day his beloved wife died, giving birth to his second child, he had cried. It was then that the changes started. He could no longer look at his eldest daughter. She look so much like her mother, he couldn't bear looking at her. He would always be reminded of the hole in his chest, one that would never heal. He started ignoring her, in the favor of Hanbi. His youngest daughter was his copy, and it was much easier for him.

He oversaw their training. He knew Hinata wasn't weak. She was just compassionate, and couldn't bring herself to hurt others, especially Hanabi, when they sparred. So much like her…

It pained him. And he failed to realize how much he was hurting his own daughter, by trying to run away from the pain himself. He knew she cried at night but no matter what, he still couldn't bring himself to acknowledge her, her strength. It was much too soon, the wound was still fresh.

The day his brother died, for the clan, for him and for his freedom, he knew things wouldn't be the same. This was his second failure. He, as clan head and as a member of family should have protected Hizashi. But his aniue had already decided on his path. Hiashi wouldn't change it.

But things were far from good. Neji, his nephew had started to hate him, the main family and Hinata with a passion.

And Hiashi couldn't bring himself to talk to the boy, explain his fathers wishes to him.

That was his third failure.

He had vowed to correct them. But every time he tried to, something held him.

Hyuuga Hiashi was not cruel, he was a coward and he knew it. Why else would he fear to face his own flesh and blood?

But things had changed, when one day, Neji himself had come to him. And of all the reasons, it was to talk about his father. To say Hiashi was surprised, would be an understatement.

He had welcomed this chance to redeem himself. He had told the boy everything, apologized, then given him the last letter Hizashi Hyuuga had written.

He had seen the boy cry.

And those tears warmed his heart. He felt lighter then he had been in many years. It seemed like some of the burden bearing him down was taken off his shoulders.

He was not a stupid man. Neji was only 12 when they had the talk, but from the way he had expressed himself, it was easy to come to a conclusion. Someone had talked to the boy, and made him see.

And Hiashi was forever grateful to that person, whoever he or she was.

From that day, he kept an eye on the boy. A few weeks later, he was once again rewarded with a surprise.

Neji had asked him about Uzumaki Naruto.

He knew that the nostalgia had made itself known on his face then. Minato was his friend and his brother's teammate after all. And they all knew and loved the tomboyish redhead. It was ironic how much their child took after one parent in looks, and personality after the other.

It was then that realization had hit him. The one who helped Neji was Naruto, the jinchuuriki, scorned by all the villagers. If Neji was asking about her now, that meant that they were close. So close that the Hyuuga genius had noticed some small facts. Like the usual glares and the whispers.

And he had smiled, in a very long time. Maybe..this was the change that was bound to happen?

So here he was, observing the boy, who was running fast through the sidewalks of the compound, frowning. Even from the distance, Hiashi could distinguish the expression on his face, and the faint disbelief in his eyes.

He sighed, lowering his head.

He would have to leave the boy at his means. He was 13 now, a shinobi. And he had made it clear to the boy that if anything bothered him, he was free to ask him.

Neji was strong, and he knew the boy would deal with what was bothering him.

He himself, however, had a job to do. It was finally time to have a talk with Hinata. He knew he couldn't delay it any longer.

* * *

><p>Neji slammed the door behind him. Taking off his sandals almost roughly, he stepped into his home. The room was in traditional Hyuuga style, with sliding doors dividing the kitchen and the bedroom. He had requested it himself, after his father had died. He had no intention of dining with the family.<p>

He really was glad that Hiashi-sama had granted him the request.

Running a hand through his hair once, Neji went to the low table at the back. It had several shelves under it, hidden from normal eye. The boy opened the first and looked inside. After rummaging through the mess that was scrolls, brushes, some wooden carved stuff, he found what he was looking for.

It was an old picture of a gennin team, like the one Team Gai had had taken. He took the picture and sat on the bed (he preferred them to futons).

There was a man, with spiky white hair and twin bangs going down his face. What was peculiar about him were the red marks, obviously drawn, that went down from his eyes.

This man was Jiraya, one of the legendary sennin. He and a small blonde boy were staring at the camera, both smiling. The sennin was ruffling the boy's hair. Next to them stood a girl, her hair tied in a weird spiky way. She was staring away from the camera. The by beside her, his long brown hair loosely tied at the end, was staring at the blonde boy, one eye twitching. Jirayas other hand was on his shoulder.

Neji focused on the small note written in the corner of the photograph. It was the same, as Naruto had put it 'girly' handwriting.

_Since your copy of the picture has 'died', I took it as my own personal job to deliver a new one to you. Don't you dare throw it away again Hizashi._

_Sincerely yours, Namikiaze Minato, future hokage. _

Neji snorted and stared at the blonde boy in wonder.

This man became the Yondaime Hokage.

His eyes lingered on the spiky mob of hair, to the bright blue eyes.

_The shape of the eye is different. But everything else.._

After Naruto had told im about the blood seal, he had already made assumptions. His theory grew as she told him of the handwriting and that it belonged to the Yondaime.

His father always told Neji stories of his gennin days. From what Neji could gather, Minato Namikaze was a very noble man. It was only understandable that he wouldn't ask any other family to sacrifice their child. He would use his.

The question was..why. Where did the kyuubi come from in the first place?

Well, he seemed to have a small surprise for Naruto too. If she was planning to rid him of the Caged Bird seal, he will unravel the truth behind her heritage, and thy mystery of the kyuubi.

It was a promise of a lifetime.

His eyes widened as the picture slipped away.

_Great! Now I even sound like that Uzumaki!_

"Hmm, come to think of it…where did that surname come from? And those whisker marks. That's a strange birthmark indeed"

And the small passage from the book, it kept bugging him. Some of the phrases crossing his mind now and then.

_Hatake Kakashi..that silver haired weird jounin who played jan ken pon with Gai sensei…Sharingan no Kakashi.._

_Did he have it some way? The eye he covered? How then? The massacre? Not possible..the book said he acquired it after the fight at the bridge. And the Uchiha had died. Maybe it's his eye?_

_And the Yondaime… No information regarding his family can be disclosed, so Naruto really was his daughter. And if people knew, they would panic. The civilians that hate her and adore the Fourth.._

A snort escaped him as he lay on the bed, hand over his eyes.

_If Iwa knew she existed, there would be assassination attempts. Plus the kyuubi, surely there will be people who would want such power? She need to be stronger.._

_"_This is getting more complicated. Uzumaki Naruto…just WHY do you, of all people have to be in such danger.."

He tried to squish the worry in his heart as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

The blonde whiskered girl seemed to have followed him into the world of dreams again.

* * *

><p>Running as fast as she could, and nearly knocking down Konohamaru along the way( Gomenasai, ttebayo! Im late!..." Boss! I chal-..hey, she ran away!"), she pelted through the rooftops towards the academy.<p>

She arrived to be greeted with a lot of noise. Exhaling loudly, she slowly made her way to the second row, where she always sat.

Her path was blocked by a tall, lean pineapple haired boy.

"Naruto? What are you doing here? This place it for the ones who graduated.", he stuffled a yawn.

Naruto grinned widely and started boasting.

"See this, Shika!" her thumb touched her hitai-ate," I graduated, that's why I'm here, ttebayo!"

"Troublesome"

Ignoring him, and his curious gaze, she quickly sat on her seat, not noticing the Uchiha beside her.

Naruto was in such a hurry not to be late, that she left the apartment disheveled. And now, while she had time, she decided it was ok to fix some stuff.

Uchiha Sasuke was annoyed. Everyone was making so much noise. He closed his eyes and rested his head on his hands, thinking of his brother.

His thoughts were cut halfway when he heard a very familiar voice. He turned. It was Naruto, and she was showing off her hiate to Shikamaru Nara. Who would have thought that the dobe will graduate.

He felt a pang of annoyance when she didn't even notice him. He was an Uchiha, all girls threw themselves on him except her! What was wring with her. His anger subdued as he watched her smooth out the wrinkles on her jacket, grumbling something about'stupid alarm clocks that never work'.

He felt a blush spreading across his face when he watched her untie her hair.

_Huh? The dobe has long hair?_

Naruto quickly tied her hair in a loose knot, (she had promised not to hide her hair to neji, but he never said not to gather it in buns, ttebayo).

Hearing a grunt, she turned her head.

"Eh? Teme, you were here?"

For the first time in all the years they studied together, Uchiha Sasuke didn't insult her back. He was just staring at her, his pale cheeks tingled with pink, and eyes showing complete disbelief.

There was a loud BANG!

Everyone's attention went to the door.

"I made it first!"

"No, my foot is closer then yours, Ino-buta!"

"Billboard Brow!"

It was then that they noticed their Sasuke-kun.

The daily chaos began. Naruto tuned it out and focused on her hair. The small, low ponytail she had made and twisted around reached her shoulder, and half of her hair covered her face when she turned. This would take some getting used too.

She failed to notice that 4 people were staring at her.

Uchiha Sasuke, who was still blushing, tried to make himself look away. Didn't work. His eyes unintentionally found the blonde girl again and again.

He had no idea she was so.._cute. _

A smirk appeared on his face. Maybe..after he had dealt with Itachi..he would get Naruto to be the mother of his future children?

He didn't know that a feral smirk had appeared on his face, or that his eyes had glowed red for a second.

The eye hidden behind a painting, however, noticed.

_I will have to keep a close eye on him. _

Aburame Shino was always quiet. He never liked talking much, and when he did, he stated only the facts. He knew many didn't like him and even feared him because of his bloodline, but he never cared.

He always watched from the sidelines. He observed. In that sense, he could rival the Nara boy, who always gave off a lazy façade, but in reality was very smart.

And Shino noticed things. He even made his bugs do some reconnaissance. He knew why the Uzumaki girl was feared, and he never held it against her. She was just a baby at that time.

When he had seen her with baggy clothes and hair tied like a boys, he thought if she had intentionally done that, out of fear. But how would she know of the dangers? Maybe it was gut instinct then.

But he knew that the day she got out of her protective shell, she will have many suitors.

And this was what was happening now. She had only let her hair down. And tied it.

Uchiha was already entranced. Shino could see that he was already planning to use the gilr as breeding stock.

He knew he wouldn't let that happen, even if he wasn't close to the blonde.

Shikamaru Nara was always curious about the whiskered girl. He noticed things, and when he mentioned them to his father, he would shrug them off, but always say that he should be friends with her.

He, Chouji, naruto and Kiba were a special gang.

At least, skiving off lessons was one of the main things they did.

And now, knowing that she had somehow graduated made him smile. This was the Naruto they always knew and wanted to see.

He nudged Chouji, who was eating chips beside him.

They both stared at the girl. She was fumbling with her hair, oblivious to everything.

"Look at Sasuke.." muttered the Nara boy.

Chouji stared at him. His eyes hardened. His gaze met his best friends'. No words were needed. They both agreed then and there to protect their blonde friend from the Uchiha. At least, until the time when he will understand that love cant be forced, and he couldn't force Uzumaki Naruto.

Hinata smiled widely, a light blush covering her face. Her idol was very beautiful. She learned from her, and she was happy that finally Naruto was showing some of what was hidden.

She eyed Kiba. The boy was already drooling openly. And Sasuke..she didn't like that look on his face..

She frowned.

* * *

><p>Ino and Sakura were yelling, as usual. Naruto covered her ears.<p>

"Will you guys just shut up? "

They quieted down.

"I don't even get what you guys see in him!"

She jumped on her desk, facing the Uchiha boy. To her slight surprise, he wasn't glaring. He was …blushing?

_What the hell…_

She felt someone hit her from the back. Loosing her balance, she fell foreword.

CRASH!

Something was off. Sasuke was right in front of her, if she was falling foreword, she should have..

_Oh heck no! ttebayo!_

But she was currently sprawled on the floor. Her head hurt.

"Itai!"

She turned her head. There was Sasuke, glaring daggers at her, as though accusing that the kiss didn't happen.

A hand helped her up. She turned her head to see it was Shikamaru, eyes narrowed at the Uchiha,and Chouji standing beside him, hands balled into fists.

"Mendokuse…Naruto, do you have any idea how troublesome this is?"

Said girl rolled her eyes, and playfully hit his arm, flashing them both a grateful smile.

They had saved her first kiss from being stolen, ttebayo! What would Neji say if..wait..

_Why am I thinking of that Hyuuga bastard again?_

* * *

><p><strong>finally reaching the important parts. the romance will be developing rather slow. and their first kiss wont be soon. but i promise it will be a rather.. hilarious scene xD<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Naruto laid her bruised forehead on the cold desk, eyes closed.

_Damn, who knew those fangirls…especially Sakura-chan could hit so hard..ttebayo_

_Why did they even thing she wanted to steal their 'precious Sasuke-kun's first kiss? Hell she would rather kiss Neji then that teme!_

_Wait..what!_

She groaned.

_There it goes again. I need to stop thinking of Neji like that, he is just a friend, who has no interest in girls. Heck even Tenten.._

_But didn't he say that she no longer had a crush on him? That they were just friends? Wait..why am I even bothered by this!_

The blonde girl raised her head, starting at the chuunin, who, apparently, had finished the monologue about becoming ninja and the responsibilities. No one ever listened anyway. No matter how they loved Iruka, he was just so..boring when he told things.

_Now when neji was telling me about his mission, it was much more interesting.._

Currently Iruka sensei was reading their names from a list. It seemed they were going to be paired in teams of three. Naruto, of course, already knew this. Neji had Tenten and Lee on his team, after all.

Shikamaru had muttered a 'mendokuse', which had earned him a slap from Ino. Naruto had snickered. Those three were surely going to be on one team. They were the heirs of the infamous Ino-Shika-Chou trio.

Sasuke, however had growled, hearing the 'teams' part. Naruto watched him glare at Iruka.

Sakura had a weird passion firing up all around her. Naruto had sweatdropped, already eading her mind. She must have been saying some thing like 'I will be paired with my Sasuke-kun, shannaro'. Her punch line was so much like hers. Except, dattebayo was cooler then shannaro!

"Team 7"

Naruto's eyes rounded on the scarred man, wide with anticipation. All the team 7's in the history of Konoha were legendary. There was Jiji with his teammates. Weren't they those two old goons that always looked at her weirdly? Then there was Jiji's team, they became the legendary Densetsu no Sannin. Jiraya, the Gama sannin, trained his own team 7, it included the Yondaime, as far as she knew. Then Minato Namikaze's team 7, the heroic Team Minato…with only one living survivor.

She shivered, despite the warm weather.

"..Uchiha Sasuke.."

A grunt from the boy.

"Haruno Sakura."

A squeal from the pinkette.

"..and Uzumaki Naruto"

Sakura yelled in indignation. Sasuke showed no sign that he heard. Naruto however, was bouncing on her seat, all the small wounds forgotten.

"Yatta! No wait.. Iruka sensei! I understand saukra, cos she is very clever and top kunoichi and all, but why the HELL am I paired with this bastard!", she had stood up somewhere in the middle of her rant, and was currently pointing an accusing finger at Sasuke.

Iruka rubbed his forehead.

"Sasuke has the top grades in everything, you however, are the dead last of the group. It is common to pair up the best and the worst in class, now sit down Naruto!"

The girl was gaping at him.

"Don't get in my way..usaratonkachi", sneered the raven haired boy.

Naruto glared at him, but she was placed in a team 7 after all. All of them were cool. This meant it..

"It's fated, ttebayo!" she screamed on top of her voice.

This earned her weird glances.

Hinata was reminded of her cousin, who for some unknown reason had changed for the past year. Not that she wasn't glad, but it was weird..

Naruto's eyes widened as she clasped a hand over her mouth.

_I am starting to think like him! Kami help me, ttebayo!_

"Ehehehe, um yatta?" she laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head as she settled down.

_Why is she so happy, _sweatdropped Iruka, eyeing his youngest student.

Shikamaru sweatdropped.

Women were so weird. And troublesome, _extremely_ troublesome.

Especially blondes. He hoped with all his heart that he wont meet another troublesome blonde in the nearest 20 years.

In Sunagakure no Sato, a dirty blonde haired girl sneezed. The word 'troublesome' seemed to slip in her mind unconsciously.

"Team 8. Aburame Shino Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba"

Naruto gave the shy girl a thumbs up. She blushed and squeaked, hiding behind Kiba, who momentarily dazed, mouthed a 'thanks' to the blonde jinchuuriki, much to her confusion. Nobody saw the Aburame heir roll his eyes at the extremely childish behavior. And of course, the fact that he was smiling was hidden by is his collar.

"I know what's coming", muttered Shikamaru, resting his head on the desk.

"Team 9 is still in circulation.."

_Yup, that's Neji's team. Gah, stop this Uzumaki Naruto! Why cant you..no, why cant HE leave you alone in your thoughts! Its enough that he already took the space for your drams.._

"Team 10. Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji"

Ino slumped. Chouji just continued to eat his chips.

"Your sensei's will come after lunch. Good luck everyone."

With that, the gathered pre-teens departed from the classroom.

* * *

><p>Naruto had a plan. Her pray was currently calmly eating his onigiri with tomatoes.<p>

The idiot had left the window open. Heh, so called genius. You are so getting what you deserve, ttebayo!

With a gust of wind, she jumped through the open window right onto the unsuspecting boy.

* * *

><p>Looking down at the tied up Uchiha, Naruto laughed evilly.<p>

The boy glared at her.

"Cillax, teme, I just want to know something. Henge!"

The Sasuke copy just winked at him and disappeared with a last wave of her hand.

* * *

><p>Haruno Sakura was walking along the alley, two bentos in her hand. She had planned to ask Sasuke-kun on a date, and since they were on the same team, they should get to know each other better, right? And then he would fall in love with her..<p>

Who was she kidding. She knew that the boy didn't even look at her like that. But she didn't want to admit it. It was so much easier to pretend that he returned her affections.

She sat on a bench, placing the bentos on her lap, thinking.

She had finally became a kunoichi. One step closer to Sasuke, and her father.

Her mother was a civilian, a widow with only one child. When she had heard that Sakura wanted to be a ninja, she had panicked. The pinkette understood it, somewhat. Her father had died the day of the kyuubi attack. Her mother just didn't want her dying.

She heard shuffling and raised her head. It was Sasuke-kun, and he was staring at her with the most caring eyes she had ever seen on him.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun..", she stuttered.

"Sakura"

The boy had his hands in his pockets, staring at her.

_So cool.._

Her heart skipped when he slowly moved foreword an sat on the other side of the bench, facing her.

"Say Sakura..what do you think of Naruto?"

"She is annoying, a loudmouth, and she wants to take you away from me! I only want to be with you Sasuke-kun! Eh, Sasuke…? Where are you going.."

The boy had stood up, not looking at her.

"Sakura..why did you become a shinobi? To run after me? I am not going to play your prince. This is military. If you want me to ever look at you that way then stop being so pathetic and train like a kunoichi tte- um..right. I only want a strong woman beside me, not a weakling fawning over me."

With that, the boy strode away, leaving the pinkette deep in thought.

_Weakling? But why…I am…am I really weak? He only wants a strong woman, shannaro…well, then I will prove to him that I am no weakling!_

"Still…something felt ..off…like it wasn't Sasuke-kun"

Naruto let out a breath she was holding.

_That was close…what would have Sakura thought if her precious Sasuke sprouted 'ttebayo' out of the blue…_

At least she tried to get the girl see. She could only hope it would work.

Her stomach hurt.

_Cramps. Dammit wha'ts wrong? Did I eat something bad today?_

It seemed she had forgotten tat the milk she drank in the morning had expired.

Hugging her stomach, she turned around.

A very angry Uchiha was in her way.

"Dobe!"

"Eh..how did you get out of the ropes?"

"Nawanuke no jutsu, usaratonkachi! Its one of the basic jutsu taught in the academy. Then again, doubt you even paid attention."

"Tch, teme", she grumbled, massaging her stomach.

"Lets go get Sakura, it's time to see our sensei", stated Sasuke, before dragging the whiskered girl back to the bench.

Sakura was surprised to see her love and Naruto coming her way.

Narrowing her eyes, she opened her mouth to yell at the blonde for stealing her Sasuke-kun, when to her surprise, said blonde was unceremoniously dropped on the ground.

"And you can tell her why you henge'd into me" smirked the boy. Naruto gulped and slowly turned to the pink haired girl.

_So that was Naruto! Sahnnaro! Wait..so Sasuke didn't hear me saying those things…and the advice..was from Naruto?_

She just gaped at the girl.

"Er..ano, I think we are late..ttebayo.." uttered Naruto in a small voice. It was no secret to HER that Sakura's punch hurt.

"Right, lets..go then." Sakura stood up and both teens waited for the jinchuuriki to raise from her position.

She just stayed there, still gaping.

Sakura didn't hit her? Was this the end of the world?

"Get up, dobe, we don't have all day!"

"Tch, teme…who got the stick even deeper in your ass anyway!"

Sakura punched her. The teme ignored.

_Yup, things are finally the way they should be,, _thought the blonde, while rubbing the bump.

"Oy, matte! Wait for me!", she yelled, and ran after them.

The figure, hidden in the nearby bushes, rubbed his head, opening a peculiar orange book.

Things certainly were interesting.

A perverted giggle escaped him.

_Those brats can wait a bit, I want to read about Miaka-chan and Akito-kun some more._

* * *

><p>"Where IS he, ttebayo!"<p>

"Shut up, Naruto baka!"

"But Sakura-chan, everyone else's sensei's already came! Even Iruka-sensei left!"

Sakura just sighed and sat down beside Sasuke, much to his annoyance. Naruto was pacing in the room, a hand on her hip, the other training on her lower lip, thinking.

Sasuke felt his eyes lock on the girl again. Sakura glared. Her love rival was already amking moves on her Sasuke-kun! Shannaro!

To the Uchiha, she was such an annoyance, a dobe, talentless, loud and yet he wanted to look at her. Hn, she really would make a good mother for his children.

He rolled his eyes when she screamed a 'Ha!'

"Seems like Naruto has a plan.." suggested Sakura, unsure, her anger momentarily forgotten.

"You bet Sakura-chan! That jounin won't know what hit him!"

They both watched her take the blackboard brush, that was chalk white from all the cleaning and pull out a small rectangular piece of paper.

Sasuke watched in interest. What was the dobe planning?

Sakura was amazed. Naruto, the dead last of the group, know fuuinjutsu? The most difficult ninja art? Was this a joke?

The joke turned into reality when they saw her pull out a brush and ink from another scroll and start carefully sketching.

After a few minutes, she was done.

"Yosh!", she presented the complete seal to the other two.

"And what's a stupid paper going to do?"

"Sasuke-kun, I think that's a fuuin, right Naruto?"

The girl beamed and with a simple ram sign, sealed the brush into the paper.

Sasuke's eyebrows rose. So the dope knew wasn't completely useless.

He looked sideways at the pinkette. She knew it was a seal, unlike him.

He glared at her.

Meanwhile, Naruto had finished sticking the seal on the wall, right above the door.

"Now, we wait."

"He is a jounin, dobe, he won't fall for that"

"Sasuke kun is right..thought he really deserves it, shannaro! We are here for almost 3 hours!"

Seems she didn't intend to say it out loud.

She grinned nervously. Naruto laughed. Sasuke ignored it.

They heard footsteps. A hand slid first, opening the sliding doors, a mob of gravity defying silver hair followed.

Naruto smirked.

"Kai!"

* * *

><p><strong>cliffhanger much? xd im evil. tune in for the next chap. kakashi's reaction awaits. ja, and review. i gave you guys 3 chapters today, so dont complain. <strong>

**btw, i always resist writing 'sweet byakuya' when naruto or anyone else says 'dear kami'. its liek a curse. xD damn i love my rp famieh! cheers to mah farza**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

A strange feeling of foreboding ran through him. He shivered. This was so much like when Kushina had pranked him, Rin and Obito.

He closed his visible eye, standing still in front of the closed door.

What would Obito say if he knew he was getting another team to test. He had a slight feeling that this time, he would pass the team.

After all, his sensei's daughter was in it.

His best friend's nephew was in it.

A sigh escaped him as he ran a hand through his silver hair.

He always watched those two. Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke. Rivals who took every chance to jump at each other's throats, who insulted each other, not really realizing those were more endearing and friendly then hostile.

So much like him and Obito.

It pained him.

He always watched the boy walk alone after the academy, train till exhaustion, eyes filled with crazy malice. This wasn't good. The boy was drowning in revenge, and if something wasn't done with it, he would be lost.

He knew perfectly well that the three elders, along with that old coot, Danzo were planning to use Sasuke as a weapon of some sort. They wanted the Sharingan bred. It sickened him. He was even secretly given the task to train only him, effectively ignoring the two other gennin.

He had given them the cold attitude. He would never do that. He would be far to the kids, like Minato sensei was fair to him, Obito and Rin.

Last night he had been through their files. They were interesting. Sasuke excelled in taijutsu, ninjutsu and genjutsu. The boy really was a genius, even I he still hadn't unlocked his doujutsu. He would be a force to be reckoned with, if trained.

But he lacked very important things. He lacked love, which was forcefully taken from him. What Itachi did, wounded the boy deeply, never to be reversed.

He sighed. He would try everything to make the boy see. It was just..he wasn't good at such things, he couldn't comfort people, heck he couldn't even be a good teacher to them, like the Fourth was to him.

Truth is he was afraid.

Apart from Sasuke, there was also Naruto, the yellow ball of never-ending sunshine and joy. She was the opposite of the young Uchiha. It was almost ironic, how their places could have been switched.

She always smiled, no matter what. She ignored the glares and the hate thrown openly at her. She was so optimistic, it puzzled him.

But still, he could still see the hurt she was keeping cooped up. Her eyes would sometimes have the faraway look, when she stared at parents interacting with their children.

But, the situation had changed.

A year ago, when he had gone to secretly check up on her after she had failed her exam the second time, he had arrived to see her smiling a real, genuine smile. And the determination in her eyes as she fell asleep reminded him so much of how Minato looked, when he made goals. It shook him to the very core.

Thus, he followed her.

He couldn't hide his surprise when he saw her interacting with the Hyuuga genius, who had already graduated.

He remembered that day perfectly well.

After all, Gai had joined him in the stalking. (No, Kakashi my rival! Stalking is such an unyouthful word! This is just..er..following and checking up on our students' welfare and brightly burning power of youth!".."She isn't my student, Gai.."…"Minor facts are unimportant!").

This was when Gai had told him about the changes in Neji, and how it seemed, Naruto was the one to egg him on.

Both jounin were smiling, and made a silent agreement not to talk of it. The stalking session never happened. Period.

A snort escaped him.

Naruto was a handful for sure.

Well, they were sure angry by now. 3 hours was a record even for him. He should get going already.

His hand rested on the door. The strange feeling returned.

_I hope I am not going to die here…_

With that, Hakate Kakashi opened the door and stuck his head in.

* * *

><p>A blackboard eraser filled with chalk powder fled at his head and hit the target with a THUMP.<p>

Naruto burst out laughing. Sakura started apologizing. Sasuke just snorted.

Kakashi, however, had a bored look in his eye as he dusted himself.

"My first impression….you are all idiots. Meet me on the roof"

With a puff of smoke, he was gone.

Silence.

"I…HAVE to learn how to do that, ttebayo!"

The trio was seated on the stone steps on the roof, looking expectedly at the jounin, who was leaning on the metal pipe at the edge, hands in his dark blue pants pockets.

"Introduce yourselves. Your likes, disliked, hobbies, dreams", he stated.

Naruto and Sakura shared a look.

"Er..sensei, why don't you go first, so we know what to say..", suggested the pinkette, unsure.

"Me? Ok. My name is Hatake Kakashi.."

Naruo's eyes widened. She was seeing the man in a whole new light. This was Yondaime's student after all! Sharingan no Kakashi, with a bunch of jutsu!

_He is going to be my sensei! He must be cool, ttebayo! Hope he isn't weird as Neji's sensei though. After all the stories he told me, Maito Gai made it to the very bottom of my 'awesome ninja' list. _

Ignoring the fact that he was extremely strong, and a tainjtsu master, he was a weirdo. She just hoped in all her heart that Kakashi wouldn't be like that too.

The fact that he was three hours late seemed to have slipped her mind.

Eyes wide, she stared at him, slightly unnerving the jounin.

_Why is she staring like that..Minato-sensei, she is weird.._

"..hm, I have a lot of likes and a lot of disliked, dreams? Hm….i have lots of hobbies."

Sasuke and Sakura stared. Naruto's eye twitched.

"Now, Pinkie, your turn."

"My name is Haruno Sakura. I like…"

She paused and looked sideways at her teammates, pondering. Kakashi raised a sliver eyebrow.

_Did she think of what Naruto told her seriously?_

"..i like a person. I don't like Ino-buta, my hobbies, I guess reading , and my dream is..to make a certain person notice me.", she finished with an audible exhale.

_Well..that was different. She reminds me of Rin a bit. _

His gaze turned to the only boy in front of him.

"Duck-butt over there, your turn."

He received a fleeting glare from said 'Duck-butt'. Naruto snorted, shuffling her laughter with her sleeve.

"Uchiha Sasuke. I like nothing in particular.."

Kakshis single eye didn't lose the sideways look the boy gave to the blonde.

"I dislike a lot of things. Hobbies-training. Dream, no, I call it ambition is to kill a certain man, and to resurrect my clan"

_Itachi…you may not have realized it, but you as good as killed your little brother that night. He is an avenger. This might be a problem. And I will have to keep Naruto away from him while he has this mindset. _

His single eye focused on the blonde.

"Blondie, go ahead."

"Heh, my nickname is cool. Anyway, I am Uzumaki Naruto, ttebayo! I like ramen, with all its flavors, my best friend, Inu niisan too! And Jiji..well all the people who like me. I dislike people who judge others without knowing them, and stereotypes. I hate clan obsessed people too, ttebayo! My hobby is training and fuuinjutsu! Oh and pranking. My dream..is to become Hokage, so that everyone will acknowledge me! And well..it would also be good to um…have a family of my won too"

The last part was mumbled, but all the other occupants heard it.

Kakashi eye smiled at her.

_Minato-sensei, Kushina-sama, she has turned out great. _

Sasuke and Sakura gave sideways looks at their blonde companion.

"Stop staring, ttebayo!", she huffed. Sakura laughed. Sasuke, however, glared.

He watched them interact. They really reminded him of his team..and the densetsu no sannin too. Was history repeating itself? He hoped not.

He didn't want those three to have the same fate as his team. He wouldn't let that happen.

The council had made him pass the team, because Uchiha Sasuke was in it. He had refused. If those three didn't pass his test, set from the times of Hashirama Senju, they wouldn't become shinobi.

Something told him they would be the first to pass.

He had the feeling yesterday when he was looking through their files.

A groan was heard. His eyes snapped back to attention.

He sweatdropped. Sakura was running after Naruto in circles around Sasuke, screaming something that sounded like 'baka' and ' stop calling my Sasuke kun a teme'. The Uchiha was ignoring both of them, an annoyed expression on his face.

_Why is he glaring at ME? _

_Anyway, time for the fun to begin. _

He chuckled evilly, earning the attention of the three.

"W..why are you laughing, sensei.." asked the pinkette, rather bravely, seeing the insane laughter, which made the other two back away.

"Hm..", the laugher stopped. One single eye stared them down. "Well, I have news for you three. You guys aren't gennin yet."

Every year the reactions were epic, and Hatake Kakashi enjoyed them. Oh yes, this was going to be fun, he thought, surveying their gobsmacked expressions.

* * *

><p>Naruto paced around her apartment, tracing an interactive design with her feet. Her brow was furred, and her hand was around her stomach, the other trailing from her temple to her bottom lip. Her typical thinking pose.<p>

The man had told them that out of the 29 who graduated, only 9 would make it to gennin. And they had to pass another test. A survival exam, which meant fighting that teme of a sensei! And he even told them not to eat! Naruto couldn't do that! Plus Neji had sat her on a normal, healthy diet. She was already used to it! And he had said that shinobi have to eat before every mission. It was essential.

What was Hatake Kakashi playing at then?

She turned around, avoiding bumping into the bed, and completed another circle.

Well…at least they were going to meet at training ground 7. She was very familiar with it. Maybe that was why she felt so confident?

She smiled, still poking at her lower lip. Right, first things first; find more information on the man.

Clapping her hands together, she ran to the small shelf in the corfner, where she kept some of the books and scrolls.

"There you are!"

She quickly took out the Bingo Book, and flipped through the pages. It was slightly outdated, but that was understandable, at least, what Neji explained was understandable.

_"The very recent Bingo Books are given personally to the most elite shinobi. Mostly the ANBU and select few jounin. Nara Shikaku has it, Hiashi-sama has it too. When they become outdated, or when new data is added, those books go to the ANBU library section, which is simply for safekeeping. For us, those outdated versions are very valuable. The information there might one day save your life in a mission."_

Right. When Neji said things like that, she was left with basically nothing to counter with. She really didn't like losing to him.

She gripped the book tighter, then realizing what she was doing, laughed.

_I wonder what he is doing now..I haven't seen him for two days. _

_Wait, I really need to stop this. I need to focus on the Bingo Book, ttebayo! Plus, its not like he will ever like me..and both he and I wont have time for such stupid things, right?_

Her chest hurt just thinking about it. But she ignored the pain. She had work to do.

_"Hatake Kakashi._

_Father:Hatake Sakumo, Konoha's White Fang._

_Mother: unknown_

_Important data: Has graduated the academy at the age of 5, became a chuunin at 6. Nicknames: Copy ninja Kakashi, Sharingan no Kakashi_

_Signature jutsu: Chidori/Raikiri_

_The only living student Of Konoha no Kiroi Senkou, Namikaze Minato._

_Over a 1000 elemental and non elemental jutsu in his arsenal._

_Has the feared Uchiha Doujutsu, the Sharingan._

_2 million ryuo on his head. _

_Killed on sight."_

Naruto turned the book over, staring at the cover. This was Iwagakure no Sato's Bingo Book. And her sensei had a 'kill on sight' order.

_How the hell…are we going to survive against him? We are just gennin, ttebayo!_

_Something really isn't right here._

She plopped on the floor, burying her hands in her arms.

_I miss Neji…_

* * *

><p><strong>Right. Heres a long answer to all the reviews (im lazy, deal with it)<strong>

**Er, the thumbs up thing, Naruto was encouraging and congradulating Hinata. A simple thumbs up worked. To Hinata Naruto is an idol, she wants to be like her, etc, so the simple sign from her made her panic and blush in embarrasment. she hdes behind kiba. he mouthes a thanks to naruto cos he likes hinata. the fact that he drooled when he saw naruto with hair down has nothing to do with it, i mean, cmon, guys drool over lots of pretty girls, but that doesnt mean they love them.**

**Sasuke isnt in a rapist mood lmao. that made me laugh. He just noticed how pretty she is, and wants to make her the mother of his kids after he finishes off itachi.**

**I will change naruto's outfit, just not now. its only the beginning guys. xD **

**I really cant bash a chara. ill try to make sasuke as he is, but he and naruto are gona be friends. i try to stick to cannon. **

**er, i update when i have inspiration to write. plus im trying to finish this quickly. next month i wont have time at all. i have to do my diploma work, and my graduation exams are coming. **

**even if i pause the story again, i wont abandon it, that much i promise :) i love neji/naru as much as you guys.**

**er..right, what the heck is writers block?**

**and tenten and lee arent dense, i guess i forgot to describe what hyuuga ogichi (point to the one who guesses where i got the name from) was wearing. he isnt even an oc. remeber the hyuuga guy playing cards? just before the pain invasion? well thats him, i just didnt remember the name xD. he had long hair, and from the back can be easily mistaken for neji. **

**right. im done. any questions? feel free to ask. ill update one more chap today. i really love those reviews! they really keep me going, thanks guys!**

**ja!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

It was the crack of dawn. The reddish rays of sunlight were just starting to peek from the horizon. The nature was slowly waking up. The singing of the birds could be heard throughout the village, hidden in the forest.

Konohagakure no Sato was still sleeping, and everything a silent serenity to it.

However, if one looked closer, he would see three figures, sluggishly walking from three different directions towards the same goal.

With a closer look, one could easily identify the tree. They were Uchiha sasuke, with bags under his eyes, which were half closed, Haruno Sakura, all in her pink glory, even if it was a bit dull today, and Uzumaki Naruto, seemingly sleepwalking, as she somehow managed to walk straight with her eyes closed.

They met in the middle of what was called training ground 7. The reason, you might ask? Simple. Their sensei had told them to turn up at 6 am.

"He isn't here, is he..", stated Naruto in a raspy voice. Sakura nodded and sat on the ground, leaning on her elbows.. The blonde followed suit, hugging her bag in the process. Sasuke just stood there, watching the horizon, with his hands in his pockets.

15 minutes passed. Naruto dosed off.

Another hour passed. Sasuke leaned on a rock, closing his eyes.

2 hours passed.

All three teens (well, technically, 2 teens and one pre-teen) were sound asleep, curled up on the grass.

1 more hour later there was a "Yo"

Kakashi sweatdropped. Those three had clearly made themselves comfortable. He wouldn't allow such careless behavior on missions. If they passed, that is.

Time to make them see the harsh reality.

His hands flashed through handseals.

"Suiton:Nami Shibuki!"

A small wave rose from the lake nearby and flying through the air, splashed the three unsuspecting kids.

They instantly woke up, splattering and coughing water.

He coughed, catching their attention.

"Now that we are all here.."

"What do you mean, ttebayo! You were 6 hours late!"

"Well, a black cat crossed my path and I had to turn back and find another way to come.."

Cue three identical eye twitches.

"Liar!" screamed Naruto and Sakura.

The crows on the trees took out in fright.

* * *

><p>" You didn't really have to drown us sensei..", grumbled the blonde, glaring at her dripping clothes and hair. Sasuke and Sakura were in the same predicament.<p>

Currently they were facing the jounin, who had a playful eye-smile on.

_He is pissing me off, ttebayo! Why did I have to get a weirdo for a sensei! And I thought Neji had it bad!_

They watched him pull out an alarm clock from seemingly nowhere and place it on the memorial stone, which they were currently facing. It was then, that they noticed three bentos on it.

Kakashi took out two bells, tied with a string and dingled them in front of his noses.

"You have to get a bell from me till midday."

It was already 11.

Sakura growled.

"The one who doesn't get a bell, will be tied to a post, and wont be allowed to eat", the silver haired man continued with that annoying eye-smile of his.

_So that's why he made us skip breakfast! Ha, in your face, Hatake Kakashi-teme! I followed Neji's advice and ate._

She smirked. As if on que, two stomachs growled beside her. The others stared at her.

_Seems she was the only one to actually think. Seems she really got something of your brains, sensei.._

After a few minutes, Sakura gasped, hand going to her mouth in horror.

"But there are only two bells, sensei.."

Naruto's eyes widened. What the hell was going on?

"The one who doesn't get a bell, will return to the academy and never become a shinobi!"

He watched two of his students pale, and one growl.

"Which is why, I suggest you coming at me with the intent to kill me", he finished.

"Ha, you couldn't even dodge an eraser, ttebayo!", Naruto boasted, inwardly wanting to check the reaction she would get. She wasn't disappointed.

"Ignore the dead-last. Loud-mouths like you, who are only talk are finished rather early."

Naruto gulped.

"But if we come at you with the intent to kill, you might get hurt, sensei!"

_Sakura-chan..he is a jounin for a reason, ttebayo. All the strong ninja in Konoha are weird.._

The blonde sweatdropped at her own thought.

"You have one hour." Naruto watched him tie the bells to his waistbelt.

_Just to check.._

Grabbing a kunai from her holster in a flash, she ran to the jounin.

A second later her hand was twisted behind her back and her own kunai was pointed at her own head.

_Fast, ttebayo! He really IS a jounin._

The same thought seemed to have struck Sasuke as well.

"I am staring to like you guys. Keep up the intent to kill. But not before I say 'Go', blondie."

Said blondie fumed and returned to her position in-between the other two.

"Now, ready? Go!", he barked.

The tree soon-to-be gennin disappeared.

Kakashi smirked.

_Let the hunt begin._

* * *

><p>Naruto was hiding in the bushes, crouched on the ground, eyes focused on the figure in the clearing. She knew Sasuke and Sakura were hidden too. Sakura-chan would probably look for the teme though.<p>

Something really wasn't right with the test. Neji's team were 4 people, the sensei and 3 gennin. So were all the other team 7's, and in fact all the famous teams she read about. So why was Hatake Kakashi putting such a test?

She narrowed her eyes.

_Time for action, ttebayo! I'll think of this weird thing later._

She jumped into the clearing, a few feet away from the older man.

He turned around, surprised.

Naruto pointed a finger at him, "You and me, fight, right here, right now, ttebayo!"

"Well, aren't you a weird one..fine, let me show you the first shinobi lesson: Taijutsu"

"Your hair is weird ttebayo!", she screamed and darted foreword with a battle cry. She stopped dead in her tracks when she realized he was pulling something from his pocket.

_Heh? But taijutsu is hand to hand combat! No weapons allowed! What is he.._

Her eyes nearly bulged out when he pulled out a very familiar orange book.

_ Henati sensei, ttebayo! You are so gona get it!_

In the distance, Sasuke sweatdropped. They were both idiots. Sakura just observed.

"I don't need both hands to defeat you. Plus I want to know what happens next"

Naruto growled.

Resuming her running, she swung her fist at Kakashi's head, but he dodged almost lazily, eyes still fixed on the book. Raising her leg, she brought it down crashing, but the jounin dodged again, flipping the girl upside down in the process.

_Gotcha!_

Naruto smirked, her hand swinging foreword to strike at his unprotected stomach. A hand blocked it.

"Seems I wont be able to read without interruptions..".

He threw her away from him and placed the book back in the ponch. Naruto, using her hand as a backbone, flipped back into the air and landed on her feet.

Seems her taijutsu beatings from Neji were giving their results.

Kakashi frowned. She was a lot stronger then he expected. But still not enough. When she ran at him again, he disappeared, making her eyes widen.

Reappearing behind her, he formed the tiger seal.

In the trees, Sasuke's eyes widened and he screamed," Naruto, get out of there! That's the seal for Katon jutsu!"

But it was too late. Naruto looked back just in time to see the scene that would hunt her nightmares many, many days and years later.

"Knohagakure Hiden Taijutsu Ōgi: Sennen Goroshi!"

Poke!

Que facepalm from the last Uchiha and an eyetwitch from the pink haired girl.

Before even flying a few meters in the air, she gave a soft "Ow!" and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Sasuke stared._ What the…._

_Hm, so I was fighting a Kage Bunshin all this time? Where is the real one then?_

He looked around, surveying his surroundings.

_Sakura is 30 meters away, West, Sasuke is up on the trees, 10 meters, South. Naruto and her clones…waiting near the lake._

At that moment, a dozen Naruto's appeared, engaging him in a taijutsu fight.

Kakashi was panting. The girl could dodge and evade attacks very well. And she even managed to hit him a few times! Damn her speed. When her fingers nearly touched the bells, he knew it was time to get more serious.

Thus Naruto found herself thrown face first into the lake.

* * *

><p>Her hands felt heavy. She grabbed the rocks on the shore and heaved herself up. The water was freezing! Damn that perverted sensei!<p>

Two blue sandals appeared on her line of vision. She flicked her hair out of her eyes and glared.

"I will have to admit, you have skills, but seems they aren't enough now are they?"

With an eye-smile, he was gone, leaving Naruto to punch the closest tree in rage.

From the noises she heard, it seemed that Sasuke and Sakura both had failed to get the bells.

_Figures. Even the genius Uchiha wo'nt be able to defeat the student of the Fourth. At least, not when he was just a gennin.._

She was hungry again. And it was nearly time, according to the alarm clock anyway. So she had made a small plan.

Go and eat the bentos.

She was caught, of course.

This was why she found herself tied to the middle wooden post. Sasuke and Sakura were just coming to their senses beside her, both leaning on the other two posts. The one-eyed jounin was leaning on the Memorial Stone, eyeing them will distaste.

"Why I am the only one tied anyway!" screamed Naruto in frustration, wriggling around the tight knots.

"Because you tried to eat the bentos without permission. I am extremely disappointed in the three of you. None of you understood the true meaning of the test."

"True..meaning?" uttered Sakura, rubbing her bruised elbow.

Sasuke just glared, his eyes shadowed.

"Yes, true meaning. You will not go back to the Academy. None of you deserve to be shinobi! You should all be dropped out of the ninja program altogether!"

Sasuke lashed out on the man, when he had his back turned, a kunai ready to stab him.

A few seconds later the jounin was sitting on his back, the kunai pressed to Sasuke's throat.

"You are just children, who don't understand. Look underneath the underneath!". He let go of the boy, who staggered back to the post. Sakura had tears in her eyes, staring horrified.

Naruto however, was frowning deeply.

_Underneath the underneath?_

_Teams of three gennin._

_Konohagakure shinobi were strong, because of their bonds.._

_So the bells…were only just a way to make us work against each other! Then the whole point ot the stupid test was.._

_"_Teamwork"

Sakura and Sasuke looked at her. Kakashi inwardly smiled.

_She really DID get your brains, sensei…_

"Indeed, teamwork. All the gennin teams consist of three members. Did you really think you could defeat a jounin just by yourselves? Naruto, you rushed into the battle, not even thinking things through. Sakura, you ignored the fact that Naruto needed your elp and ran off to find Sasuke, and you..Sasuke, thought that those two are useless and will only be in your way. All of you have individual good skills, and if you had combined them, I am sure you would have been able to get the bells!"

"But the bells.."

"Sakura, that was just a way to see who would sacrifice themselves for the sake of getting the bells. Who would be willing to put his ninja career online, in order for the mission to be accomplished. I am very disappointed. Only Naruto figured it out, and it was late already."

The three lowered their heads in shame. Naruto had tears in her eyes.

Kakashi sighed.

"There will be lots of difficult missions, where you would be forced to make decisions. For example.."

He appeared beside Naruto, a kunai at her throat. Her eyes widened as her breath hitched.

"Sasuke, kill Sakura or else I will kill Naruto!"

The boy just stared at him, eyes clearing showing that he was at a loss of what to do. Sakura screamed.

He lowered the kunai and turned to the Memorial stone.

"But..you guys have potential. I will give you one last chance. Eat, then we will have a round two. Mark my words, there will be no other second chances. And one more thing.."

He turned around, his one eye was glaring at them, almost piercing through with cold hatred.

"Do not feed Naruto. I am your commander. What I say is law, you hear me!"

With that he disappeared.

* * *

><p>Sakura cleared away the tears, and slowly opened her bento. Sasuke was already eating.<p>

Naruto tried not to stare at the food. Her stomach betrayed her.

"Ehehe, don't mind me guys, I'm not hungry at all, plus I had eaten in the morning, so.."

She found a bento shoved in her face.

"Eat up, dobe. You need your strength, if we ever want to defeat him and get those bells, we need you in your best shape. You cant go collapsing in the middle of a fight. You will just hold us back."

He wasn't looking at her, but the pink tingle in his cheeks was visible.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. Maybe it was a normal reaction? Neji did that around her a lot too. And Hinata..

However, her heart swelled in gratitude.

"But sasuke-kun…sensei said.."

"I don't sense him anywhere near."

A few minutes later, the second bento was held out to her by a smiling Sakura.

Naruto felt tears start to roll down her cheeks.

"S..Salura-chan.."

"I am on a diet anyway, so eat up, shannaro!"

"Um…I cant use my hands…"

Reluctantly and with an eye twitch, the pinkette fed the blonde.

"Fankfs, Fakufaaa", said the blonde through her mouthful.

"Don't talk with you mo-.."

Her accusing voice died off as the skies darkened and lightning struck right before them, revealing their sensei.

He was angry, very angry. All three shivered.

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO FEED HER! YOU DISOBEYED ME!," he thundered, head looming over them.

"..we are teammates! All for one and one for all! " screamed the blonde

"That's right," backed up Sakura, raising her fist to make a point, "Like we would let our teammate starve!"

"No matter what, we stick together, its either all three starve or all three eat, Kakashi!" growled Sasuke, lifting himself from the ground.

"You guys….PASS!"

_Huh?, _was all that passed through their heads.

An unintelligent "Whaa" escaped Naruto.

Kakashi just smiled.

"I am proud. You guys acted like a real team would. Long ago, a friend of mine told me '_Those who break the rules and regulations are trash..'_", he paused for the effect, " _but those who abandon their friends, are worse then trash."_

_Kakashi sensei is so COOL, ttebayo! _

"Look at this, do you know whose names are carved here?", he waved a hand at the Memorial Stone. Sasuke's eyes darkened, Naruto's lowered.

"KIA..", whispered Sakura.

"Killed in action. They are all heroes of Konoha. They are a prime example of what I just told you."

A silence followed.

"Well, staring from tomorrow, Team 7 is officially in circulation! Congratulations on passing"

The thumbs up and the eye-smile they received made all three of them smile.

"Lets go then! Ne Sasuke-kun, go out on a date with me…"

"No Sakura…"

Kakashi had already disappeared.

A few minutes later it hit her.

"Oy! You left me here, dattebayo! Untie me! Sasuke-teme, Sakura-chan! Kakashi-ero-sensei-teme!

Her teeth started chattering.

_Damn! Im gona catch a cold here! Stupid sensei throwing his students in ice cold water! _

She sneezed, making her hair fly around her in waves, then plaster to her cheeks.

"Naruto?", came a surprised voice.

* * *

><p>Her heart started beating fast.<p>

_Oh no..of all the times for him to see, it as to be now! Fate sure is a bitch…_

"Really? I thought you didn't agree to fate at all..". He appeared right in front of her, the ever-present smirk adoring his face.

Her face flushed as she stared up at those amused lavender eyes.

_Kami..i said that out loud didn't i?_

"Yes, you did.."

Her eyes widened. He laughed.

"So..what happened? You seem to be in.." he eyed her up and down, raising a curious eyebrow," distress…Why else would you want me to see you.."

That sounded weird, extremely weird, but Naruto liked it. She knew she shouldn't, but she realy couldn't help it, ttebayo!

Neji watched her face contract in anger.

"Well, of course I would be in distress! Stupid sensei doing a weird test!.Look underneath the underneath! Pff! Not counting the fact that my first kiss was nearly stolen away, and that perverted sensei of mine poked me in the ass..well my clone but I still felt it! It hurt dammit! And then I had to take a shower in the freezing water of this lake! To top it all, they left me tied up here!"

She was breathing hard now from all the energy she used to shout that out loud.

Neji felt anger boil up in him.

"Who is your sensei?", he asked, gritting his teeth.

"Hatake Kakashi. But he is cool once you get past the perverse thing. He is insanely strong too.."

_That pervert…_

_Why did she even get him anyway? He gets Gai and she gets his rival.._

_Well, then again, she was the daughter of his sensei, plus there was Sasuke Uchiha too, the nephew of Obito uchiha.._

_Hn_

"And who tried to steal away your first kiss?"

He watched her cheeks flame up. It was so endearing. He felt the sudden urge to stroke her birthmarks again.

_Dammit, the disease has caught up again._

"Eh…w-well..I was glaring at Sasuke-teme, and then someone bumped into me from the back and I was sort of falling on him, but Shika had moved teme away with his shadow jutsu, you know, when he sprouts a shadow from his feet…and I ended up saved! Hehehe…um.."

_Uchiha Sasuke..why does the mare thought of you being close to Naruto make me want to kill you.._

He was growling.

"Oy, Neji, you ok?"

"Hm?" he focused on her again, "Hai. Lets get you out of those then, shall we?"

"Yeah, I am frozen here…A..a..achoo!"

Neji just smirked and with a simple wave of his hand, released some chakra from his fingers.

In mare minutes, the ropes were cut.

Naruto massaged her arm.

Neji, however, stared.

"hey, what are you looking at!"

"Hm? Nothing"

Seemingly in a trance, he moved closer, pinning the girl to the wooden post. His hand seemed to have gained a conscience of its own, as it moved slowly to her cheek, where the tear stains were frozen to her cheeks. His thump gently cleared it. The girl shivered under the touch. His hand moved to her hair, combing it with his fingers along its length, making the girl close her eyes. His touch was lulling her to sleep..

"You..really have beautiful hair, Naruto", he murmured.

The girl looked down. Neji frowned. What WAS he doing anyway? This was so wrong..and right..

_I really need to consult someone.._

When the whiskered girl raised her head, there was a mischievous smile playing on her pink lips. But the effect was lost somewhat due to her eyes. They showed nothing but slight hurt and confusion.

"Um..yes yes, I know, Mr. Winner of the Best Kept Hair in all Konoha.."

The trance broke. The now slightly annoyed Hyuuga stepped away from her, and turned around, leaving the training ground.

"Get moving, Uzumaki, or you will really catch a cold," he called in his cold, uncaring voice. It send shivers down her spine. this wasn't her Neji..

The girl obliged, and ran to catch up to the boy.

* * *

><p><strong>hope you guys like it. sorry for the lame fighting scene. but well, there really wasnt much fighting in the anime too at this episode. i promise they will be more juicy soon. just wait for the wave arc. <strong>


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Why was he acting like that? He really needed to stop it, he was scaring her. She shivered when he touched her! And the fear in her eyes…she was afraid of him.

That fact felt like a stab in his chest.

_Dammit!_

What had made him do it? He only knew that his mind had gone black when he saw her, venerable, so beautiful with her blonde locks cascading down her back. He had noticed she had cried. There were stains on her face. Not the right place for them. And he had decided it was up to him to correct that mistake. He knew he was just making up reasons. In reality..he wanted to touch her, to feel her warm skin, to caress those whisker marks..

He wanted that. And it scared him. What was she doing to him?

He remembered how silky and fluffy her hair felt under his touch. It smelled of wet grass and raspberries. He wanted to bury his nose in it and never let go.

And it frustrated him. Neji never felt like this before meeting her. Why..did she effect him like that!

In a way, he was glad she didn't notice those things and disregarded them. Winner of all Konoha Best Kept Hair..or was it?

He snorted, pushing the food into his mouth. The occupants of the room eyed him strangely.

It also angered him. Part of him wanted her to realize…wait, realize WHAT? He himself didn't know.

He groaned, rubbing his chin with the chopsticks and looked down at his chest, specifically, where the heart was.

A little more and it would jump out of his chest.

He glared at it.

_Stop acting like that will you!_

"Neji, who are you talking to?"

His eyes snapped to reality. Currently, he was dining with Hiashi-sama, Hinata and Hanabi. This was a small celebration on Hinata's graduation and passing the test set by her jounin sensei.

The head of the main branch was drinking from his bowl, eyes closed, still waiting for an answer.

Neji's eyes widened. He had said that out loud.

_Damn you Uzumaki Naruto!_

"Nothing uncle, just thinking of some things," he replied vaguely, willing Hiashi to buy it. The man eyed him for a second, then seemingly deeming the answer appropriate, nodded.

Neji knew one day he was going to be interrogated. He was just glad his uncle didn't bring it up now, especially in front of his cousins.

"Nee-san, tell me about your test! And your teammates too…plus yesterday you came late and.." chirped Hanabi, only to be interrupted by a small glare from her father.

"Gomenasai.."

Hinata sneaked a peak at her chichue, and seeing him in a good mood, decided it was ok to tell. An encouraging nod from Neji helped as well.

"W-well..", she poked her pointer fingers together ," Kurenai sensei hid in a g-genjutsu, and we had to find her. F-from the very start, Shino-san had suggested working together, a-and me and Kiba-kun agreed"

Nejo noticed her blush pink when mentioning the name of the Inuzuka.

_She likes him?_

It was ironic he didn't realize that Naruto was acting the same way around him as Hinata around Kiba.

He altogether forgot that he himself acted like that too.

"So you guys found her? I remember that Konohamaru idiot telling us about your sensei. Isn't she a super cool genjutsu mistress?" whispered the young girl, staring at her big sister and occasionally eyeing her strict father.

Neji was surprised. Usually Hiashi wouldn't let Hanabi talk like that.

Hinata turned to smile at her sister.

"H-hai. We make a great reconnaissance team. Kurenai sensei had requested the three of us personally.

"Sugoi!, I want to be a ninja too."

"In a few years, Hanabi", came the calm voice of Hiashi Hyuuga.

The girl smiled and not forgetting her manners, carefully grabbed a chunk of rise with her chopsticks.

"Hinata, as your sister pointed out, you came back rather late yesterday, and didn't say anything."

Hiashi eyed his eldest. She squirmed under his gaze but held her ground.

"Hai, otou-sama. After meeting Kurenai sensei, m-me and my teammates went out to eat a-and talk about ourselves. Kiba-kun and Shino-kun are my god friends."

Neji sighed. Sure, she was doing much better now, but seems her own father still scared her. She needed to get over that fear. And of Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino helped her, he would only be thankful.

"A-and..well, the inauguration itself was quite interesting"

Neji's interest peaked.

"Naruto-chan had changed a bit, and that d-didn't go unnoticed by the b-boys.."

_What!_

The Hyuuga boy's eyes narrowed into slits.

"Shino-kun later told me to watch out for U-Uchiha Sasuke.."

"Why?," inquired Hiashi, curious. What would Fugaku's son want?

"W-well…I noticed it too. H-he was looking at Naruto-chan weirdly, l-like he wanted to eat her..When I asked Shino-kun about it, h-he said that Naruto was most likely on his 'to become wife' l-list. B-but from what Shino-kun gathered, Shimamaru-kun and Chouji kun wouldn't let that happen. And that's why he warned me, he and Kiba-kun seem to think that when he realizes N-Naruto-chan wouldn't want to be with him, h-he might go after m-me.."

Her voice died down. A snap was heard. The three Hyuuga whirled their heads around to see Neji, who was standing up. His broken chopsticks clenched in one hand. His eyes were overshadowed. He was leaking killing intent.

"Hiashi-sama, may I be excused? I am not hungry anymore.."

His voice was shaking. Without waiting for an answer, he strode away.

_Neji..niisan?_

"Chichue, whats wrong with Neji-nii?" asked Hanabi.

Hiashi allowed a small smile appear on his face.

"He just has things to think over, do not worry, Hanabi."

The girl nodded and went back to eating. Hinata edged closer to her father, silently asking the question.

"Do not worry. I will never let you marry without love, Hinata"

Her eyes widened and she blushed.

"As for Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke won't be able to even touch a single hair on her head. Naruto herself won't let that happen. And..Neji won't let that happen."

He put his hand on her head, smiling at her confused face.

He really was glad she no longer feared him.

_Hisana, your eldest daughter will turn into a beauty, just like you._

* * *

><p>Neji slammed the door behind him, making the whole building shake. His Byakugan was appearing without handseals.<p>

He was angry. No..he was beyond pissed. His hands were itching to clasp around a certain Raven haired boy's throat.

_If he dares touch her..I will kill him._

_But..what if Naruto likes him?_

He gripped his chest, sinking to the floor.

_Why..does it feel like I am on fire…_

_Why do I even care who that idiot ends up with?_

He rubbed his forehead, eyes closed in agony.

_They are teammates now..he will be with her constantly.._

* * *

><p>For the second time in his whole life, something died in him. Except this time it was different. He couldn't explain it. He had no idea.<p>

That was the first time he had a nightmare.

The blonde girl had visited him in his dreams again, but her back was turned to him, and she was leaving, following a dark figure ahead.

He had screamed her name.

* * *

><p>"Point A. Blondie here. Target sighted. Ready to capture at your command."<p>

"Point B. Pinkie here. I'm ready too."

"Point C. Raven here. Target slowly moving to point D."

"Why does teme get to change his nickname anyway.."

"Point D. Silver Wolf here. Naruto, shut up and get that cat."

Three figures jumped from their hiding spots on one unsuspecting cat.

* * *

><p>It had been a few weeks already. And they did nothing but D-ranks.<p>

When Naruto had realized that D-ranking missions were basically chores, the had wanted to kill the stupid bastard of a Hyuuga! (said Hyuuga had violently sneezed, making Gai sprout something about power of youth again).

Nevertheless, she and a reluctant Sasuke and Sakura did the missions. They knew that they had to have at least some amount of those stupid missions listed in their files.

But after two whole weeks of weeding gardens, walking dogs, cleaning apartments, babysitting, cleaning dog crap, the river, the streets, they were sick of it.

Naruto glared heatedy at the cat in her arms. Her face was scratched. The cat hated her.

That feeling was mutual. Tora was the same cat that scared her to death the day she found the hidden room in the library. Naruto knew she had to be thankful, but the cat was real devil in disguise!

Mission 'capture Tora' was avoided by most gennin. Why did team 7 had to do it all the time? The feline ran away twice a day, ttebayo!

They really needed something more challenging, which she didn't lose any chance to loudly point out.

Sasuke and Sakura, even though not expressing it out loud, agreed with her wholeheartedly. They were really getting sick of chores..and Tora too.

"Kakashi sensei! Get a normal mission, ttebayo!", she screamed into the mouthpiece, effectively deafening the jounin.

* * *

><p>"Team 7 reporting. Mission 'Capture the lost cat Tora" complete, " stated Kakashi.<p>

They were in the Hokage tower, the gennin standing behind their sensei, eyeing the cat maliciously as it was being deathchoked by a very fat lady. She was Hi no Kuni Daimyo's wife.

"Aww, my poor Tora-chan! Did you miss mommy? Don't leave me again.."

Naruto sweatdropped. No wonder the cat ran away. She was even feeling sorry for it.

"Good job, now, your next mission will be..", Sarutobi looked through his files ," clean the Inuzuka dogs, babysit a merchant's children.."

"Hell no, jiji! Give us a real mission!" screamed Naruto. Kakashi put a hand over her mouth and chuckled nervously. He was going to get it..

"Naruto" yelled Iruka from the Hokage's right." You are just a newbie gennin with no experience!"

Hiruzen raised a hand to silence the chuunin.

"Naruto, do you know how the missions are distributed?"

"Of course I do jiji! D-ranks for gennin, C-ranks for high genin and chuunin, B-ranks from high chuunin, jounin and tokubest jounin, A-ranks for jounin and ANBU, S-ranks for the hokage, and shinobi with equal power! I know this! But I am sick of D-ranks! Give us a normal challenging mission. We can handle it, we are no longer children, dattebayo!

Sarutobi raised his eyebrows. She really could surprise an old man.

He looked at the other gennin. Sasuke had a determined and somewhat arrognat expression in, and Sakura was nodding.

"Kakashi, can team 7 handle a C-rank?"

Before Iruka could open his mouth to protest, the copy ninja answered.

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

"Well, then I have the perfect mission for you. Send Tazuna in."

Naruto beamed. Sasuke smirked. Sakura however, frowned. She was unsure if they could hande a C-rank. But seeing how her two teammates reacted, and secretly not wanting to appear weak to Sasuke, she smiled as well.

_We can do this, shannnaro!_

The door opened. The smell of sake and cigars filled the room.

Naruto blanched and turned around. Her fantasies of rescuing a princess were crushed.

"Eh..who are those brats? Are they really gona protect me? The blond chirp looks weak.."

Naruto snapped.

"Oy, bastard ossan!", she lunged for him, but was held back by her collar.

"Naruto, we don't attack our clients."

That made her settle down.

"Hm, I am the awesome bridge builder Tazuna! And you are going to escort me to Nami no Kuni, and protect me till I finish building my super awesome bridge!"

_Nami no Kuni! Finally I will see some other places, and then get to tell Neji about it!_

Her chest contracted. She barely heard her sensei say 'Don't worry, I am a jounin, if anything happens, I will protect you', and dismiss the team.

Since that day in the training grounds, she hadn't seen him. Kami knew how much she missed him. But he must have been very busy, and she was too, with all those missions and the team trainings she hardly had time off. And now, she was going away on a long C-rank. It would probably last a few weeks too.

She wanted to see him badly, so much that she was prepared to run to the Hyuuga compound and burst into his room. Who cares if she doesn't even know where it is?

She just wanted to see Hyuuga Neji, at least before she left on her mission.

* * *

><p>Kakashi had told them to go pack the essentials and wait for him at the North, main gate of Konohagakure at 10 am.<p>

After putting some clothes and minor important stuff in her bag, Naruto sealed some fuuinjutsu scrolls and the notebook in a spare scroll. She put it on her bed, next to her other scroll, which contained some ink an a brush. This way, she wouldn't forget anything.

It was 9 pm. Kakashi had told them to go sleep early, but she couldn't. Thoughts still on a certain Hyuuga, she made her way to the training ground.

To her disappointment, he wasn't there.

Her heart sank. What if he didn't want to be her friend anymore?

Her heart flipped at the 'friend' but she ignored it.

After aimlessly staring into space, she finally realized she was being an idiot. He had lots of things to do, why would he be with her? He had his team, his missions, his family..who was she to him anyway?

Snuggling into her jacket, she turned around.

Her heart skipped. Her hand, which were gripping the collar of her jacked stilled.

He was there, casually leaning on a tree, just like he did a year ago…

"Naruto.."

"Neji..what are you doing here?

He didn't look at her. Instead, he looked at something in his hand.

"Gai sensei told me that Kakashi's team was leaving for a long mission. Your first C-rank.."

She nodded.

"Hai."

"Well, I will wait for a full report of you first C-rank mission then. And we will discuss it over ramen." He smiled.

Naruto returned the grin full force, skipping to him.

"You bet! My mission will be more epic then yours, ttebayo!"

He took her hand.

_Eh.._

"Eh, what's that?"

He was tying something on her wrist.

It was a white leather bracelet, with the kanji for 'kaze' engraved in the middle and spiraling ornaments around it.

"This is filled with my chakra. It my own precaution. I will know if something happens to you."

Naruto brought her hand up to her eyes, staring at the bracelet.

"I..Neji, arigatou, but naze…"

He just smirked at her.

"Isn't it your birthday in a week? Consider it an early birthday present. Oh, that remind me, here."

He shoved a small notebook in her hand.

"I noticed that you tried to crate your own variations of seals and all of them were out of order, scattered here and there on random scrolls. Just put your ideas here."

"Like..the Yondaime?"

"Yes."

Naruto couldn't stand it anymore. She hugged him tightly, surprising the boy.

He hugged her back.

"You be careful too, Neji-baka"

"Go. You need to get a decent sleep."

She nodded and with another quick hug, disappeared.

He just smirked as he watched her run off. It turned into a painful grimace.

_Naruto…be careful .I have very bad feeling…_

* * *

><p><strong>Finally getting close to the action. hope this wasn't rushed. to the ones who have slight hope, haku will die. sorry to disappoint, but he just doesnt fit in the story i guess.<strong>

**3 chapters today too. geez im getting too soft on you guys. review to make me more motivated**

**About Hyuuga Hisana (forgive me Kuchiki Hisana fans) well i always felt that Hyuuga women need names that start with an H. Hinata, Hanabi..etc. I saved Hitomi for Neji's mother.**

**chapter reread and mistakes fixed. **


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13.**

_Finally, out of the village! This is going to be so COOL, dattebayo!_

Naruto skipped, grinning hugely, clapping her hands together.

"Are you sure this squirt is a real ninja.." wondered Tazuna with a eerie disbelief.

"Yes, Tazuna-san, she is just…excited", reassured the one-eyed jounin, putting a hand on his shoulder.

_Of course she would_, thought Kakashi, _this is her first time out of Konoha, anyone would be curious. _

Sasuke, who was walking at the front, along with the client and Sakura, just 'hn'-ed. The dobe really was getting on his nerves with her constant happy denominor, and her jumping up and down, and her endless chattering…

She should be more serious. This was a mission, not a playground.

Unknowingly, Naruto was thinking along the same lines, but she still couldn't help it. She just loved being outside, it WAS her first time, after all! She wanted to know and see everything! But even so, she kept her senses in alert. It wouldn't be good if something happened while she was daydreaming, ttebayo!

But her cheerfulness hid something. And only Kakashi noticed, having watched over her when she was little. He knew all her quirks. He knew which smile was genuine, from her heard, and which was a simple mask to hide behind.

Today's act had its purpose. She was extremely nervous. Maybe the girl didn't realize it yet, but Hatake Kakasi did. She was a sensory type, and could always tell if there was danger or some foul chakra around. He had witnessed it himself a few times when she was just a toddler and had a few assassination attempts from Kumo.

She would call it gut instinct. He would call it 'something weird that probably has to do with Kyuubi's chakra'. Kushina could feel danger too.

If Naruto was nervous, this meant one thing. Something was going to go wrong. His eyes roamed the surroundings.

He would have to be careful. If this mission was more dangerous then it was first presented as..

His eyes narrowed at the bridge builder, who was looking around, shivering slightly.

..He would never let anything happen to his students. They were his new family now. And he would be damned if anyone of them died on their first C-rank.

Narto whirled the bracelet around her wrist in anxiety. Something was off, but she couldn't place her finger at _what _exactly. She shook her head. Maybe she was just paranoid.

Her eyes rested on the white leather again.

She smiled softly.

_Neji…_

* * *

><p>"Tazuna san, what is , Nam no Kuni like?", asked Sakura, hands behind her back, grinning. Naruto looked over to them in interest.<p>

The old man smiled proudly and waving his arms around, declared that Nami no Kuni was a very beautiful place.

"As the name says, its hidden in waves! Some of the elders say it rivals the beauty of former Uzushiogakure no Sato!"

Kakashi paled and looked sideways at his youngest student. She was listening intently with mild interest.

_Seems she didn't realize that Uzumaki and Uzushiogakure can have something in common. She can be rather bright at situations, but she is also very dense.._

He sweatdropped and buried his nose in his Icha-Icha.

"Ne, Kakashi-sensei, are there any ninja in Nami?"

Sakura was full of questions. Seems like Naruto wasn't the _only _one who was out of Konoha for the first time in her life.

She smirked.

"No. It's a small village, only civilians. That's why they order missions from the closest hidden villages. As you know, there are 5 big shinobi nations that have the biggest 5 hidden villages"

"Hi no Kuni, Kaze no Kuni.."Naruto started listing, earning an eye smile from her sensei " Mizu no Kuni, Tsuchi no Kuni and Kaminari no Kuni, right sensei!"

"Yes. And each of them have their own hidden villages. Konohagakure no Sato, Sunagakure no Sato, Kirigakure no Sato, Iwagakure no Sato and Kumogakure no Sato in the order Naruto just listed"

"Now, there are a lot of other minor shinobi villages, but the 5 biggest are these. They are ruled by the 5 Kage, who being the strongest shinobi in their own countries group together. They decide fates of shinobi."

_Sugoi…who would have thought Jiji was so strong!_

_"_You guys didn't just doubt the Hokage, did you…"

Three synchronic shaking of heads followed that statement.

Kakashi sweatdropped.

* * *

><p>His one eye, focused on a passage in his book, narrowed. It was a very warm day. He guessed there were some idiots who thought the disguise could work on him. His gennin are one thing, but he, on the other hand, was another.<p>

_Two, judging from their chakra, chuunin most probably, armed with weapons. Something smells wrong. Poison? This could be dangerous .It seems that for some reason, The Demon Brothers are here. Now..to find out why exactly.._

* * *

><p>"Kakashi sensei!" screamed Sakura in panic, her green eyes wide. Two figures dressed in black just jumped on them seemingly from nowhere and cut down Kakashi.<p>

"Now, your turn, blondie!" sneered one of them, lunging at the girl.

She had frozen. The bracelet was pulsing on her hand. A sudden wave of chakra from it brought her to reality and she dodged in time, but the chain knife got her hand. Quickly pulling it ff, she took a kunai from her leg holster and jumped at the attacker, her foot crushing into his stomach.

_Itai! He has armour?_

He raised his weapon, aiming at her again. She jumped, kicking off his head in the process and bringing her fist down to smash at his head.

With the corner of her eye she saw Sasuke dealing with the other, with some shinobi strings and taijutsu. Sakura was standing protectively in front of their charge, kunai ready. Naruto saw her shaking, but her grip didn't loosen.

"Im gona kill ya, brat!" roared the one she was fighting with. Naruto scolded herself for the lapse of attention and landing on the ground, took a stance.

She didn't get the chance to fight him.

"Maa, you guys did well"

Her sensei was somehow, holding both attackers in a chokehold. Both passed out.

While Naruto and Sasuke silently watched their sensei tie up the two to a tree, Sakura fumed, weird dark pink energy around her.

_He used kawarimi, Shannaro!_

"Maa, calm down, Sakura. I am proud of you. All three did well. Although, Naruto..you had frozen up at first. Its good that you overcame it, don't let it happen again. It could bring you to death.

She nodded, gripping her hand. Only now did she register that it was bleeding and actually HURT!

"Ow!"

"Tazuna, would you mind explaining why they were after you?"

"Huh.." muttered a confused Sakura. The blonde herself didn't get it as well. How did Kakashi-sensei know they were after him?

"That was the reason I did a kawarimi. To see who was their target. You, or my team. My theory proved when they tried to attack you. Talk."

"I…" the man looked down." The economy of Nami no Kuni is going downhill, its basically nonexistent since the third shinobi war. We are on an island, and there are only a select few boats. There is not trade, the people are starving. That was why I had decided to build a bridge that would lead us to the villages around the isle. But its not going as smoothly as we planned. There is a very bad man, who is the reason of starvation. He raises the taxes daily, and takes food, children , anything if we don't pay. That was why I had come to Konoha. I desperately needed help. I knew Gatou would try to stop me, kill me, and my family. I have a small 5 year old grandson..i want him to see Nami no Kuni in her glory, and not in ruins like it is now.."

"Gatou? You mean the shipping magnet that deal with illegal businesses?", Kakashi interrupted.

"Yes, after the third shinobi war, Nami wasn't in the best state, but still we could do trade and live, but then, that man came, he took control of everything. There was nothing we could do. He isolated us, closing all the other roots and connections we had to the shore. There is no free import or export in the country now…

"So, this as a high B-rank mission, that has the possibility of turning into an A-rank. Yet you requested only a simple escort mission and protection from thugs, not ex-shinobi."

"I..just didn't have the money.."

"We cant continue the mission. This is beyond what we can do."

"Kakashi sensei!"

It was Naruto. She was shaking.

"I saw we continue this mission. I am sure me, Sasuke teme, and Sakura chan can handle it! Besides, we requested a harder mission ourselves. We cant just abandon it, ttebayo."

Sasuke was nodding, a smirk on his face. The idea of a B-rank made him excited. Finally he could test his strength against stronger apponents. Then he could face _Him._

Sakura was afraid. She couldn't hide it. A B-rank was more then she had bargained for. She knew she wasn't strong enough. But she didn't want to face her mother with a failed mission. She would just tell her to quit being a ninja. Haruno Sakura was her father's daughter. She wouldn't quit. Never. And she would never give her mother the satisfaction of her failure. No. Besides, the aura's radiating from Naruto and Sasuke made her more determined. If they were going to do it, so was she, Shannaro!

"I agree, sensei", she stated calmly and smiled at Naruto, who was staring at her with big eyes.

"We have to take Naruto to the hospital. Those chains had poison in them."

"Nani!..."

She started to hyperventilate, paling.

She was gona diee! And Neji wouldn't be there with her in her deathbed!

"Well, I think that is a plausible enough explanation why we can no lon-.."

"Chotto!"

Her posture was straight, and there was fire in her eyes. Without warning she took out her own kunai and stabbed herself in the wound, leaking the infected blood.

"It was my own fault for getting injured. I promise..not to be a burden again. We aren't dropping the mission cos of me, dattebayo! I wont go back on my word!"

The others were left impressed.

Kakashi was proud. She really was their daughter. He could almost se both of them behind the girl.

"Maaa, you are going to bleed to death now, Naruto."

"What!"

She started running around in circles, (with an energy of a 'dying' person), before the jounin caught her by the arm and quickly bandaged her hand.

The would was already half healed. For once, Kakashi was thankful for the kyuubi.

"That's a very nice bracelet you have there…", he whispered.

Naruto sputtered, yanking her hand away and pulling her sleeve down all the way to the tips of her fingers.

The jounin chuckled and with a last wink, straightened up.

"Well, we have no choice I guess. Team 7 officially continues this mission"

The blonde gave a 'yatta!'. Sakura smiled. Sasuke was wearing his usual Uchiha smirk.

_This was going to be interesting.._

* * *

><p>"Sugoi, Tazuna jiji! The bridge is magnificent! Even if its not finished yet! And Nami no Kuni seems very beautiful too.." exclaimed the blonde, who was leaning off the edge of the small boat they hired, staring awed at the front.<p>

"Keep your voice down, Naruto. Tazuna, is the fog usually this thick here?" inquired Kakashi, nose in his book as usual.

"Yes, but not this thick. Here fog is natural."

"Hm, I see.."

"Kakashi, do you think we will be attacked again?" grunted the Uchiha, hands folded under his chin.

Naruto glared half-heartedly at him. He never called Kakashi-sensei by his title. It was so disrespecting, ttebayo…not that she was one to talk, seeming that she called the Hokage 'Saru-jiji, or just jiji', but still…saying Kakashi-_sensei _ had a ring to it.

"Well, those two we encountered were the Demon Brothers. Former Kirigakure nin. Chuunin level. I have a suspicion our next opponent will be stronger. Probably a jounin. If that happens, I want you three to stay away from the fight." The last sentence was spoken in a dead serious tone that made all thee ginning gulp.

"Hai", they chorused, neither of them really liking that idea.

Tazuna just stayed quiet, silently praying for a miracle.

* * *

><p>They were silently walking along an alley, all of them anxious. Tazuna's house, according to him, was near.<p>

Naruto's eyes were focused on the ground, one hand on her bag strap, another, fingering the strings on the bracelet.

Something feels very wrong. The fog makes it hard to breathe…

Her eyes snapped to the nearby bushes and in a flash, her kunai was already flying in that direction.

Ignoring the outraged cry of 'Naruto-baka' from the pinkette, she ran to the bushes.

A snow white bunny was cowering under the blade that nearly missed its head.

Naruto's heart ached as she scooped up the small creature and hugged it to her chest, cooing.

"G..gomennasai! I nearly killed you, Usagi-kun!", she whimpered.

Sakura hit her on the head and told her off for fooling around. Sasuke just 'hn'-ed as usual. Kakashi, however, frowned.

The bunny was _white.._

_Kawarimi then.._

His sensitive ears picked up a barely audible slashing sound.

"DUCK!"

He pulled down Naruto and Sakura with him, Sasuke pulled Tazuna.

A huge blade soared over their heads and implanted in a tree. A figure landed on it, his back facing them. His pants reached half of his stomach, and were held up by twin straps. Other then that and the few bandages here and there, he was naked. The figure tilted his head towards them. A slightly crazy, dark grey eye observed them.

"Sharingan no Kakashi…its no wonder those idiots failed."

When he turned his head, Naruto gasped.

"Kirigakure no Kijin, Momochi Zabuza.."

"Heh, seems like one of your brats knows me, Kakashi."

"Team 7, formation C now!"

The gennin leaped immediately, standing in front of Tazuna in a perfect triangle, kunai's raised and ready.

"Give me the bridge builder."

"Seems like you will have to fight us first, to get him."

"Easy!" roared the missing nin, leaking out killing intent.

The trio froze. Sakura was shaking, tears in her eyes. Sasuke had a maniac look in his eyes and was slowly raising his kunai. Naruto was trembling. Never had she felt something so potent, so..evil…wanting her dead, no, she was ready to kill herself, she was afraid..

A foreign but at the same time familiar chakra pulsed through her again, warming her up from the inside. She exhaled and calmed down, her eyes narrowing and focusing on the situation. She looked sideways. Sakura was on the verge of collapsing. Sasuke..what the hell was he doing!

"Teme..", she whispered urgently, willing to pull him out of the stupor. It worked to some extent.

"Don't worry Sasuke, I will never let my comrades die..", came the soothing voice of Hatake Kakashi. The boy relaxed, the pinkette cleared the sweat from her brow. All three fet themselves lighter after those words. If there was some tension and fear left in her after Neji's chakra pulsed, it was all gone now.

To Naruto, the feeling of it felt very familiar. But now, she wouldn't dwell on it, she will think of how her sensei seemed familiar to her later. Now, they had a battle going on. Unknowingly, she leaked some of her own chakra, confident and strong into the bracelet.

For a moment, they just stood there, anticipating, waiting. Then, seemingly from nowhere, Zabuza appeared, right in the middle of the formation, his giant zamabto slashing down on the poor, terrified old man.

Not that it worked. Kakashi was there, blocking it with a simple kunai, his single eye glaring at the man.

"Your opponent is ME!"

Zabuza jumped away, smirking. Kakashi stood a few feet away from his students and their client, hand over his headband.

"Hahaha! So I get to see the famous Sharingan! I feel honored, Copy ninja Kakashi!"

A few feet away, Sasuke's eyes widened in disbelief and anger.

"Sharingan? But he isn't an Uchiha!"

"Teme, calm down. He had the eye transplanted most likely. Plus it was said that he got the nickname after the battle of Kanabi Bridge, you know when the war ended..His teammate, an Uchia had died there. Maybe he gave him his eye or something?"

The blonde was trying to reason with the boy. The last thing they needed was for him to have a fight with Kakashi.

"Or he stole it!"

Naruto wante to slap him then and there. Eyes blazing in anger, she rounded on him, a finger stabbing his chest with every word she uttered.

"Kakashi-sensei is an honorable man, he wouldn't do that. He and Uchiha Obito were taught by the Yondaime. Do you really think that man would have lowlife people who stole other's EYES in his team?"

"Wait…Uchiha..Obito?"

"Er, yeah, that was written in the book. He, sensei and a girl named Rin where in the gennin team of Minato Namikaze"

"He was my uncle…My mother said that he died a heroes death, and even gave a gift to his friend, in order to protect their teammate or something."

"There you go, ttebayo! We can ask sensei about it later, aren't we supposed to protect Tazuna oyaji here?"

He nodded. They turned their attention to the fight. Sakura felt a little jealous of the blonde, but ignored it. This wasn't the time to fawn over her Sasuke. She needed to be serious. Gripping her kunai tighter, she focused on the battle as well.

It was heated. The fog, that had somehow doubled was making it extremely difficult to see. They could only make outlines. They saw Kakashi stab Zabuza. The man dissolved into water. A second later, the man was behind their sensei, stabbing him. To their surprise, he turned into water as well.

"Kakashi is using the Sahringan, he copied his jutsu in seconds," muttered Sasuke in awe. The man really was amazing, especially considering the fact that the eye wasn't his.

Zabuza was surprised as well. They exchanged blows after blows, and somewhere in the middle, Kakashi had to evade, lending neatly on the lake nearby.

After that things started to go downhill. Even jounin could make mistakes. Hatake Kakashi's mistake was underestimating the foe and not going seriously on him. This had landed him in his current predicament. He was in a ball of water, controlled by the hand of one Momochi Zabuza. Water prison. He should have realized it. But it was late. He couldn't move.

The nuke nin was laughing like a maniac again. Forming the half ram seal with his left hand, a dozen water clones appeared.

"Now..it time for your brats, Kakashi!"

"Naruto, Saskue, Sakura, take Tazuna and run! Zabuza cant move from here and the further his bunshin are away from him, the weaker they are. The mission is to protect the client!", he yelled in desperation. He needed them to get to safety and think of a way to get out of this mess.

"Now way in hell, Kaka-sensei! Those who follow the rules and regulations are trash, but those who abandon their teammates, are worse then trash! You taught us that! We aren't leaving, right minna?"

After a nod from both, they took their stances. Naruto was racking her brain for a plan. They needed to free Kakashi, without him, they were doomed, tat much she knew. Luckily, the real Zabuza was busy, and from what she had seen, water clones were much weaker.

"Sakura, guard Tazuna, Sasuke teme, I have a plan."

The pinkette nodded. The knew she was only going to get in their way. Support was her job. Maybe she could expand her ninjutsu that way? After all, all teams needed support, like med nin and genjutsu users.

"You brats think you are going to defeat me? Laughable! You aren't even real ninja. None of you know what's it like to be ninja in this cruel world! Let me tell you of my graduation exam.."

Kakashi saw his students pale at the tale the Demon of Mist was telling them. It grossed him out as well, but those were times of war, and Mizugakure was famous for its cruel ways.

But the snort and the smirk from his respective top and dead-last students, as well as the confident look from his other female student made his heart warm up in pride.

They were bonding into a family, just like Team Minato was. He was glad they remembered what he had taught them on their first day, even if he had slight fear that they might get hurt, he was confident in their abilities. Plus Naruto had some 'help' from Konoha when needed.

Neji must really love her, for taking such precautions. Naruto must not know the true extent of the bracelet on her wrist.

Taking in the full blown foxish smirk on the blondes face, he just eye-smiled.

He was really going to enjoy the show. And when it ended, Zabuza was going to get it.

* * *

><p>Putting her fingers in her signature cross sign, and a scream of "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!", she swarmed the water clones. Naturally, with a lot of smoke, all of them dispelled. But this was part of the plan. Taking out a fuuma shuriken out of her bag, she threw it to the boy, who caught it and smirked, catching on the plan.<p>

Taking a running headstart, Sasuke jumped into the air, twisting the huge shuriken along with him.

"That's not going to work, brat!", yelled a Zabuza bunshin, while a few others ran at the last Uchiha, Naruto and Sakura.

Sasuke just smirked and released it, letting it fly slicing through the air.

The bunshin laughed at the fact that the boy missed. Or so he thought.

As the real Zabuza watched the shuriken pelt his way with wide eyes, his clones had swarmed over Naruto, who, with some quick thrown kunai and taijutsu was defeating them.

One of the clones raised the zambato, preparing to strike the girl from the back. Naruto, feeling something was off, punched the clone in front of her, and whirling around, ducked fast. As the Zabuza bunshin was regaining his balance, Naruto, in anger put her palms on the his stomach, unknowingly doing what she usually did to her leaf. The clone was ripped from the inside from the overflow of raw, uncontrolled wind chakra.

This made the real Zabuza and Kakashi gape.

Quickly coming to his senses, Zabuza bent backwards, letting the shuriken fly over his head.

"I have to admit, your brats have talent but tha-.." his rant was cut by a swishing sound. Looking back he saw the fuuma shuriken had doubled.

"What!"

In the back, near Sakura, Naruto focused on a quick kawarimi.

The shuriken promptly burst into smoke, revealing the blonde whiskered girl, who was wearing the same smirk the Uchiha had on his face.

Wanting to try it again, Naruto coated her kunai with the same raw, uncontrollable chakra and threw it at the nuke-nin. It sailed through the air very fast, barely visible to the eye.

Having only seconds to deicide, Zabuza quickly let go of the prison. But the kunai grazed him in the shoulder. The would was straight and deep, blood flowing freely from it. He grunted and in his rage, turned around to stab the girl, who had fallen with a big SPLASH in the water.

A metal glove stopped him. Kakashi had blocked the attack with the back of his hand. Blood was seeping through it, but he didn't notice. His whole attention was focused on the man before him.

"Good job Naruto, Saskue, Sakura, I'll take it from here. You get back to the shore."

Nodding, the girl hastily swam back, carefully going around them in a circle.

Sakura and Sasuke ran to her and both helped her up. The three turned around to stare at the battle.

After a series of taijutsu, both men flew back and started rapidly making hand seals. Naruto had never seen a jutsu that needed so many hand seals. And the fact that those men were doing it so fast that their hands blurred..

"That's why they are jounin, we had better stay away.." stated Sasuke. They got up and made their way back to Tazuna.

The jutsu was amazing. Two huge water dragons roared and circling in the air, started biting each other, ripping the throats and splashing water all around them. Naruto could see the missin nin ashen faced, even scared. It seemed, Kakashi sensei had copied that jutsu, and even finished it at the same time as Zabuza.

After that, Kakashi decided to scare the man a bit more, and started continuing his sentences.

"Sensei can be really funny when he wants to," sweatdropped the blonde, scratching her hand. It had a lot of minor straight cuts on it.

_Huh? When did this happen?_

Sasuke and Sakura agreed with her. But they couldn't deny it, the man was strong.

"The power of Sharingan…", e whispered as they watched their sensei perform another jutsu. They heard Zabuza scream something about 'you copied it even before I did it" before he was literally swarmed by a huge crashing wave.

* * *

><p>Kakashi was standing over a beaten, bloody Zabuza.<p>

"This is your death", he stated, preparing to go through some hand seals.

There was a slashing through the air.

3 senbon had implanted themselves in the neck of the nin.

A boy jumped from the trees, his face hidden behind a while mask. It had swirly red designs on it. The boy, who looked like he could be a year older then Naruto, slowly walked up to the man and picked him up.

"Thank you, for taking care of him, but as he is a former shinobi of Kirigakure, it is up to ANBU to finish him off. Regardless, I thank you for your cooperation."

"ANBU?" asked Sakura.

"They are the elite of every village. Hiding their identities behind masks is an obligation. They perform rather dirt tasks and the difficult missions." Supplied Kakashi, stumbling slightly.

The boy nodded, and with a fleeting glance at Naruto, vanished in a wave of wind and leaves.

_I have to learn how to do that, ttebayo!_

"Ano, but sensei..he is so young, how can he just come off and finish Zabuza when we struggled and still barely managed?", she ranted, panicky for some unknown reason. When he had looked at her, she had shivered and flinched.

"Naruto..", Kakashi put a hand on her shoulder, "This is the life of a shinobi. There will be many times when you will see children even younger who are much more powerful."

His hand felt more heavy. Naruto stared up at her sensei. His eye fluttered closed.

"Guess..i overused the Sahringan again.."

With that he fainted from exhaustion.

Sakura and Sasuke ran to them, Tazuna in taw.

"I guess the Sharingan takes a toll on him. He cant turn it off, maybe that's whe he closes it and hides behind the hiate. The constant chakra drain would get to anyone in this situation", explained the pinkette, checking their sensei's pulse.

Sasuke and Naruto just stared.

"You would make a great med nin, Sakura-chan! Maybe even like the Slug Sannin, ttebayo!"

The girl beamed and smiled.

"We need to get him somewhere. Tazuna, where is your house?", asked Sasuke, getting up from his crouching position.

"Here…" said the old man in a low voice. Grabbing Kakashi, the trio followed the man.

* * *

><p><strong>this was loong lol. my hand hurts from typing. : ja na. hope i didnt make the battle scenes too lousy. i know i am not getting the exact dialogues, but who cares? its a fanfic, after all. plus i havent seen those episodes in like..2 years. so no blaming. i write stuff based on mu memory anyways. <strong>

**Er, i really dont know how to make a poll, and im lazy, plus most likely if i have tim,e the wave arc wil be finished today so, to all the readers, answer fast. **

**haku dies or not? **

**just your opinions. but ill tell you one thing. zabu will die for sure. and if haku lives, he wont come back to konoha. so you guys say, you want him to live or die? **


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

The pray was unsuspecting. Devoid of any emotion and trying to control the giddiness, three figures crawled towards the victim, silently, stealthily. This was their only chance to know the truth..hidden within!

Two hands slowly sneaked up the face of the man, The attackers meeting each others eyes, and looking back to see the reassuring nod from their ally, who was right behind them, they moved to hook their fingers in the cloth, each dreading the worst.

Two hands gripped their wrists.

"What, are my kawaii little gennin doing", came a raspy voice, laced with amusement.

Sakura screamed, falling onto Sasuke. Naruto backed away, clutching her heart.

"We were checking if…"

"If you were still alive" , Sasuke finished for Naruto, sending her a glare and throwing Sakura off him in annoyance.

Kaakshi sat up and eye-smiled at them. They were just _too_ predictable. Having a gennin team sure was funny in a way.

"How are you feeling, sensei," asked a worried Sakura as they crowded around him.

"I am fine, don't worry,", he waved her off.

"About Zabuza..", started Naruto uncertainly as she and Sasuke shared a look.

"Yes?", prompted the copy nin, curious. It wouldn't be a surprise if those two had already guessed.

"Well, from what I know of ANBU..aren't they supposed to kill enemies and nuke-nin on the spot?", the blonde stated, her finger back to pulling at her lower lip.

"Plus, that boy, he used senbon," pressed Sasuke, sending an annoyed glare at Naruto. She needed to stop being so damn cute in those situations.

Kakashi nodded and turned his head to his last student. She fidgeted, but stated in a firm voice.

"Senbon aren't meant to kill, they cant kill. They are used to paralyze the opponents by hitting certain pints in the body. The boy hit Zabuza in the neck, I have read one in a medical book that the pressure points there, if triggered can cause a false death."

He smiled. "Correct. My kawaii gennin are learning. Indeed he is alive. And that pseudo ANBU is on his style, after all he whisked Zabuza away right under our noses."

"How long will it take him to recover? I mean they are bound to attack again, right, ttebayo?

The jounin nodded. "Yes. I give about a week. It will take me about that much time to recover as well. When the time comes, I will take on Zabuza, while you three will deal with his partner."

"But-.."

He shushed Sakura with his hand.

"This means one thing. Training."

* * *

><p>"Climb tress? We know how to climb trees, dattebayo!", screamed Naruto, her low bun flying behind her. Sasuke silently agreed. What the hell was Kakashi teaching them! This was training?<p>

"Aaah, that's where you are wrong. I mean..climbing without using your hands.", came the monotone voice of Hatake Kakashi, whose nose was buried in his book.

The usual.

"Huh?" Sakura voice what the other two were thinking.

"Just watch,"

And they did, with mouths open wide seeing him walk up a tree, literally! And he was with his clutches!

The man walked upside down a branch hanging over them and stood there, defying all the laws of gravity. Naruto was reminded of bats.

"You three don't know how to use your chakra", he said, jumping back down.

"What! But we use jutsu.." ranted Sasuke.

"I didn't say you _can't _use chakra, I said you don't _know how _to use it. You and Naruto waste a lot of chakra when using your jutsu. Thus, you exhaust yourself faster then a blink of an eye, I am sure all of you know what severe chakra exhaustion results in."

They gulped.

"For example, with the amount you Sasuke used to create that single fireball during the bell test, a shinobi who could control his chakra would create 12 fireballs, all of them much more potent and stronger then the feeble one you used"

Sasuke was miffed. Naruto sniggered.

"There is nothing funny, Naruto. You waste chakra the most. Which brings us here. Tree climbing. This is a chakra control exercise. The soles of your feet are the hardest part to concentrate chakra in, thus making this exercise much more efficient"

He threw kunai at their feet.

"Start climbing, and mark your progress on the trees."

Naruto eyed the tree in front of her, and determined to finish this, just like she finished the leaf levitating, she grabbed her kunai and ran to her tree, just as Sasuke ran to him.

She didn't even make 4 steps up when she started to fall. Bending down, she slashed her kunai and with a backflip, landed on the ground. Huffing, she looked sideways. Sasuke was glaring at his tree. His mark, however, was a bit higher then Naruto's.

Her eyes narrowed.

_That teme, I cant lose to him of all people!_

"Eh? This is so easy, shannaro!"

They looked up, jaws dropping. Sakura was happily sitting on the highest branch.

"Well, it seems Sakura can go guard the bridge. Hm, the famous Uchiha clan isn't that good as it was told now eh? Or the 'future hokage'. From what I see, Sakura is more qualified.." mused Kakashi.

His two students boiled in anger.

Sakura quietly walked down her tree. Kakashi instructed her to repeat the exercise a few more times, then go guard Tazuna. He himself settled on a nearby rock and opened his beloved book.

After a fem more unsuccessful tries, Naruto had enough. Shuffling her feet, she moved toward Sakura, who was resting by the tree truck.

"Ano, Sakura-chan..can you give me a few hints? Onegai!"

She made her best puppy-eyes.

The girl rolled her eyes and settled more comfortably, beckoning the girl to listen.

"You are too angry, you need to stop thinking those things. Calm down, your mind mustn't be a war zone. Next, accommodate your chakra. If you put too little, your foot wont stick, if you put to much, you get blasted away. That's what's happening to you and Sasuke-kun."

The gilr was listening to her with rapt attention. Funny, she had done the same thing unknowingly when practicing with Neji. Why was being with him making her so calm?

She smiled, rubbing the back of her head.

"Arigatou, Sakura-chan!"

The pinkette returned it.

"Its nothing, plus I really never thanked you for making me see a few things.."

_Is she talking about the day I henged into teme?_

"Oh,", she blushed in embarrassment, rubbing her cheek ," well, what I said there was true, I am really glad you are following my advice! Trust me, if you show him how strong of a kunoichi you are, he will see you for sure, dattebayo!", she whispered, excited.

Sakura just laughed nervously, and they both glanced at Sasuke, who was staring at them with an unreadable expression.

"Er, I have to go, ja ne, Naruto"

The girl waved, getting up and positively fled the forest.

Naruto turned to her tree, ignoring the glance from the teme.

_Tree-teme, you are so going down!_

She paused. This brought so many memories, and suddenly, she whished Neji was here too.

_I really need to stop thinking of him._

Gulping, she looked up. The tree was standing there, as though mocking here.

She glared and focusing chakra on her feet, ran.

* * *

><p>Tsunami and Tazuna watched in awe as the two slurped the soup incredibly fast, semanding second portions at the same time.<p>

Sakura facepalmed. Those two were idiots. Yes, she was calling her Sasuke-kun an idiot. She sighed, eyeing them with a wary green eye. They were glaring at each other now, sparks flying from their eyes.

A second later both turned and barfed the food on the floor.

Sakura snapped.

"Naruto baka! You are a GIRL, act more like it, shannaro! And you, Sasuke-baka, stop being such an immature idiot.

This got their attention.

Kakashi chuckled and went back to reading his book.

Naruto and Sasuke were staring at their teammate as if seeing her for the first time.

Since when did she worry over Naruto's rude, unladylike manners?

And did the world come to an end? Did se just call her precious crush..a baka? Did she just..scold him and call him an _idiot?_

Sasuke shook him head and poked the girl with one finger, checking if this was real. Naruto, however, started laughing like there was no tomorrow.

"G..good one, Sakura chan..", she wheezed, holding her stomach with one hand and clearing a tear with the other.

Said gilr blushed deep red realizing what she had just said. Sasuke was still staring her.

"Why are you all so happy? Why are you laughing?", demanded a small voice.

Everyone turned to look at the door. A small boy with a bowler hat was staring at them, his coal black eyes blazing angrily. They were tearful.

"Ah, Inari..", breathed Tazuna in relief.

"Jiji!" the boy ran and gave him grandpa a hug. Tsunami eyed her son worriedly.

"Well!" the boy pressed, voice laced with anger."You are all gona die! Gatou will just kill you!"

"He squirt, we aren't going to die", declared Naruto, smiling. ,"I promise!"

"NO, everyone breaks their promises! You cant fight against him! Why are you even trying? You guys, just sitting here laughing, you have no idea what's it like to suffer, all of you had great lives and now.-", his yelling was cut short with a loud BANG!

Naruto had slammed her fist on the table, making the whole house rattle.

"So what are you gona do? Cry! Well you can just do that, coward, I will prove to you that heroes exist!" with that she left, her eyes still shadowed.

Sasuke glared at the table, his hands shaking.

Sakura watched Inari run off, crying. It was then that she noticed a picture on the wall.

"Who is that?", she asked.

Tsunami sighed. Tazuna buried his face in his hands, silently telling then the story of Kaiza, the adopted father of Inari.

A few hours later, with a tired sigh, Kakashi walked out.

* * *

><p>He slowly made his way to the sniffling boy and sat beside him, eyeing the sea spread so magnificently around him. It was twilight.<p>

So comforting and serenely beautiful.

A calm before the storm.

His eye landed on the small boy. Angry tears were still rolling from his swollen red eyes.

"You know", he started, getting the attention of his little companion ," Naruto never had anyone to help her and take care of her. She was always on her own. The words she told you…she was telling that to herself as well. Naruto had stopped crying long time ago. Don't you think it will be the right thing to follow suit?"

The boy stared at him, eyes wide, still sniffling.

"She never knew her parents, you, however do. Kaiza was a hero, you should follow him in his footsteps"

His gaze locked to the horizon.

"She doesn't know that her own father was a hero, who sacrificed himself and his family for the sake of everyone. Regardless, she follows into his footsteps. And she doesn't cry."

He stood up and pulled his book out. The young boy watched him slowly walk away.

The figure that was leaning on the balcony above them frowned deeply.

"Kakashi" stated Sasuke as the man returned.

"Don't worry about Naruto, leave her be for today."

The look on both teens screamed to disobey, but they listened nonetheless.

"If the dobe isn't back in the morning, I will go after her" growled out the boy. Sakura nodded.

* * *

><p>Carefully landing on her both feet, the blonde jinchuuriki growled. She still couldn't reach the very top! But at least she had improved. A smirk appeared on her face, oh yeah, she was awesome!<p>

Breathing deeply and trying to calm down her heartbeat to normal, she sat down cross legged on the grass.

Training only chakra control was efficient, and she felt it increase with the new super way of training she found. Her smirk widened. It all started when she decided to test something The test showed that she was right.

The clones passed down information.

She berated herself for not reading the description of the Kage Bunshin in the scroll thoroughly. All right, she had been excited and wanted to get to the jutsu learning part fast, but still, dismissing even little things could be crucial. She vowed to pay attention to minor things as well.

The clone had gone to the woods. A few minutes later the real Naruto was rubbing her foot and cursing herself for tripping. This had made her think. She after all, had remembered the poke in the ass during the bell test, it felt like it was done to HER, even if it was just a clone. And she remembered being stabbed by Zabuza's huge sword.

So she decided to test it out on chakra as well. If the Kage Bunshin passed memories to her, wouldn't chakra control be efficient as well? It wasn't physical after all..

So she made a single shadow clone and they both started climbing the tree.

After an hour of trying, the poor bunshin dispelled, sending all the memories to the original. Naruto's eyes nearly bulged out when she felt the usual chaos of her chakra subdue.

Frowning, she tried one more time, this time without the aid of her bunshin. To her surprise, it was much easier. Like she trained for 2 whole hours instead of one..

Then it hit her. She could double the amount of training she got! And all thanks to her kage bunshins!

Sitting up, she created two clones and made them continue the chakra control exercise.

"Hm, and I will read some of my scrolls, ttebayo!"

After sending one fleeting look around her, she pulled a small scroll from her orange pants pocket. All the scrolls were sealed in this one.

Biting her thumb, she let a single drop of the red liquid land on it. Black markings spiraled around it and the scroll popped open.

This was a very weak blood seal and could be easily broken by someone with intermediate knowledge of fuuinjutsu. But still, Naruto was proud. She had been working on this seal since the gennin test. She still had trouble with stronger versions of it, like the ones tat hid the room in the library. They were extremely difficult and she knew she couldn't do them just yet. She needed to study more. But analyzing it for a few nights, she had found a way to make a more weaker version of it.

She smiled. Well, sure she wanted more protection for her precious notebooks and fuuinjutsu scrolls, but she knew what she had done was amazing as well. This was her first seal that she had created..well..tweaked.

Unsealing the notebook Neji had given her, and a black pen, she started carefully drawing it on the clean white page.

Her tongue between her teeth, she moved the pen in patterns. Smiling, she put on a small date at the top and proceeded to giving small explanations of each line and symbol in the seal.

_Yosh! Thank you Neji!_

She smiled at her bracelet as she closed the notebook. Putting it aside, she picked up another scroll.

She hadn't opened it since the whole Mizuki incident. This was the other jutsu copied from the Scroll of Sealing.

Carefully, she opened it.

Her eyes bulged out.

_No way!_

There was an interactive seal drawn in the middle, and just like she had done, each line and brush stroke was explained. At least, that was what it seemed at first.

Yondaime's handwriting.

This was his jutsu.

The Hiraishin no jutsu!.

As she read, her brow furred.

_"Space-time jutsu. the used to teleport to the marked place faster then a blink of an eye. Originally planned to have several stages. The upper Reiya in the seal were based of the kuchiouse no jutsu, in other words, dimension travelling. This was used to create the dimention void, where the user appears during the milliseconds of travelling. The Juten Suru characters were made to utilize elemental chakra into the jutsu, and depending on it, controlling the speed. The kiso elements integrate the connection to the persons chakra and with the conjunction of Jobu Shiji balance the powers of nature, not letting the body of the user disintegrate in the dimension void. _

_The seal itself is the jutsu-shiki, the formula used to stimulate the jutsu"_

Naruto let out a low whistle. _No wonder no one can recreate it! This was freaking suicidal! Yonadaime really was a genius if he managed to create something like this!_

_Hm, Elemental chakra? So in order to every start studying this and trying to learn it, I need to get the hang of my wind chakra first._

_Daaaamn. And Kaka-sensei told me not to use it to carelessly. _

She stared at her hand. The cuts she had gotten were from her use of raw wind chakra. If she didn't control it, it would cut her along with the foe.

Laughter escaped her.

Fuuton teme! You are soo going down!

Picturing Neji in her mind, training, she bit her lip.

She really missed him. The bracelet on her hand seemed to glow in the moonlight.

_Ill master wind, just you wait!_

With that she created a few more clones, setting them to leaf chakra filling.

After a good 15 minutes or so, she slumped. Something wasn't exactly right. She was doing it wrong.

Two poofs of smoke startled her. She stumbled, holding her head a sthe memories rushed to her.

_Damn, this kind of training sure is hard, ttebayo!_

After adjusting to the memories and slight exhaustion, she unsealed the book on chakra and quickly found the page for elemental manipulation.

There wasn't much written. Just some short explanation on what elemental chakra was, its uses and the basic ways to tame it.

"So..i have to cut a leaf? Wasn't the leaf chakra filling thing..wait, oh yeah, heheh, I'm an idiot. Oh well, ill try to fill a leaf with wind chakra like Neji does it with his water chakra, once I get the hand of it, just you wait, Neji!"

Plucking a few leafs from a nearby tree, and creating 5 clones in the process, they finally started the now officially dubbed 'Prove to Neji I can do it' training.

If someone had passed through the wild forest of Nami no Kuni at that time, he would see 5 identical girls, 3 of which were sitting on the group and holding something in-between their hands, and the other two, climbing trees without using their hands.

* * *

><p>He stilled, his brown eyes narrowing. Slowly and silently, he crept to the figure, seemingly asleep in the shade on a tree.<p>

He gasped. This was the girl who was in Hatake Kakashi's gennin team. What was she doing here? Did she?

His hand went up his kimono sleeve, gripping the hidden senbon as his eyes narrowed.

He saw her chest slowly rise up and down. His grip relaxed, letting go of the needles.

Instead he crouched down, staring at her. His hand went to touch the weird whisker marks on her cheeks.

The girl wriggled. His hand backed away, then hurriedly and gently shook her shoulder.

Her eyes started to open.

"If you sleep here, you will catch a cold."

Naruto yaned and opened her eyes, staring around her.

_She has beautiful eyes.._ _So much like the sea.._

"Hello," she said, smiling at her.

The boy returned the smile.

* * *

><p><strong>spoilers for next chap? nah. <strong>

**cliffhanger again though. i really love them! :**

**review! **


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Two figures were crunching low on the ground, gathering herbs and putting them in the basket that was in-between them.

"What were you doing here all night?", asked the figure in a pink kimono, looking over at his blonde companion.

The girl gave him a wide smile as she placed a herb in the basket.

"I am training, dattebayo!"

The long haired boy gave a low chuckle.

"I see you have a hitai-ate on, you must be a ninja, and a strong one. Why do you train then?"

"Well…I guess I want to prove a point to someone..", the girl wondered, a finger on her lower lip. Se looked so.._innocent. _

"Naruto-chan, do you have precious people?"

The question caught the blonde girl off guard.

She nodded, a faraway look on her and a small blush on her cheeks.

"I train to protect them too. I wont even let them get hurt, especially him..", she whispered.

The boy flinched and looked away, picking up the basket.

"What about you, Haku-chan? Do you have precious people?"

"Yes. I would do anything to make his dreams come true."

"He must really love and cherish you then.."

The boy didn't answer. Instead, he stood up.

"Naruto, you will become strong. Fighting for your precious people, that's when you will be most powerful, even if you lose all hope. I believe in you."

With that, he smiled and turned to leave.

"Oh, and by the way..", he sniggered, walking back to her and lowering his head, mouth close to her ear.

"I am a boy."

Seeing her jaw drop, he snickered and with a last wave, left.

On his way, he passed her teammate, the black haired boy.

_I wish it could be different. But the next time we will meet, will be a battlefield. I don't want to fight you, I don't want you hurt, but..it is inevitable. _

_Forgive me.._

* * *

><p>"Oy, dobe get over here!", grumbled Sasuke, hands in pockets.<p>

"Hai, hai, teme..", Naruto snorted, gathering her scroll (which was already reinforced with the blood seal again) and her jacket.

"Don't tell me you trained all night"

"Bingo teme! I can climb the tree now!", she smirked, running past him in the direction of Tazuna's house.

_That..that dobe!_

Growling at the fact that she was getting stronger then him…no wait, this was Uzumaki Naruto, the idiot dead-last, so what if she finished tree-climbing earlier then him? He will finish it too, and beat that dobe!

Glaring at the ground, he trotted after her.

* * *

><p>A few more days passed. During that time, all 3 gennin trained. It was mostly tree climbing, meditating and planning.<p>

Sasuke reached the top of his tree the next day after Naruto did. After that, Kakashi had Sakura continue the exercise, in order to increase her chakra, since apparently, she had very little of it.

This led to a good, long lecture on chakra again. But in the end, Naruto and Sasuke didn't feel that bad. After all they had much more chakra then the pinkette, meaning it was harder to control. They took turns guarding the bridge. Naruto secretly practiced her elemental manipulation as well. Well her 'secret' was easily busted by her sensei, who caught her easily.

After a lecture on the dangers of using Kage Bunshin, and practicing elemental manipulation this early, he let her be, with a few promises of course.

In the end, it wasn't that bad, Naruto even got some tips, which helped. A lot.

In the evenings, when Tazuna was usually home, Kakashi would make them spar, using taijutsu only.

He corrected their mistakes and gave them pointers. For Sakura, this was torture. Kakashi had openly stated that her style was the weak academy one, which even though flawless, lacked power and shape.

"But Sakura chan can hit really, really hard when she is mad..", Naruto had pointed out, making the pinkette raise her fist and hit her. The bonde girl had dodged, and the fist implanted itself on the ground, cracking it and making a small dent. Naruto had scrambled away to hide behind a very surprised Kakashi. Sasuke had been plain bewildered, but it slowly turned to a smirk. Seems the girl wasn't as useless as he thought. To Naruto, it was evident that the Uchiha was seeing their teammate in a whole new light.

After that, Kakashi had suggested to add that small fact to her taijutsu. So here Sakura was, punching a tree with chakra filled knuckles. The dents were leaving the rest of tema 7 sweatdropping.

Nope, none of them was going to anger one Haruno Sakura now.

"She reminds me of Tsunade –sama,", the copy nin had mumbled, making Naruto raise a curious eyebrow and Sasuke shrug.

For the Uchiha, Kakashi had just corrected some of the stances and minor mistakes, but in all, he was pleased. All the boy needed now was to add speed and unlock his doujutsu. After all, this taijutsu style worked with the conjunction of the Sharingan. He, being teammates with an Uchiha, knew how sloppy the style was without the eyes and speed.

That was why a reluctant Sasuke was currently running around the makeshift training field they had made out of the clearing. This was his 10th lap.

For Naruto, the man stated that her style was wrong form the very beginning, but she had somehow corrected the mistakes ( the blonde had blushed under her sensei's gaze and gripped the bracelet tightly), that was why her form was acceptable, but still, she needed something new to fit her perfectly.

And the first and most important factor in that was speed.

That was why she was running beside the annoyed Uchiha.

Kakashi himself was seated on his very familiar rock, reading the orange book and occasionally giggling in a rather girlish manner.

The laps weren't exactly perfect, but they couldn't go running around all Nami no Kuni, that's why they had to deal with this for now on.

The Copy ninja observed his students from his place. They were full of energy, all three of them wanting to improve. And they were going at an interesting pace too. He had only set them to taijutsu training 2 days ago, and they were already improving. He knew they never had time to fully prepare, but this was at least something. If it helped them survive the upcoming encounter, then so be it.

His single grey eye rested on his pink haired student. The tree was in blisters by now. It was ironic how much she and Naruto acted alike. They both didn't like giving up. Naruto just proclaimed it for the world to hear.

He chuckled as his gaze moved on to his other two students. They were already sweating. Maybe he should do a 'Gai' and give them weights when they get back? Hm, it was a good idea.

_Besides, its nearly time for the chuunin exams. If they finish this mission successfully…_

His eye curved into an upside down U.

* * *

><p>As she ran, her mind went through a million possibilities. She liked the idea of a cool taijutsu style invented by herself or something.<p>

She remembered reading about gravity seals in the fuuinjutsu scrolls. Well, seems she had something to do once she got home. Speed was always her forte, but increasing it will be great! Plus it might help her in the Hiraishin too. And then there was her wind chakra. She remembered what she did to that Zabuza clone. If only she could control it! Then she would add it to her taijutsu!

She giggled, imagining her with a stance like Naji's, her hands glowing with deadly wind chakra. What if she could change its properties! Like going through the skin and destroying the body from the inside? Or just outer wounds, clear sliced!

She shivered. Wind was a deadly element for sure..

But still it would be so cool! And then, when she learned some of the offensive fuuinjutsu and created some of her own, she could use it too?

Momentarily dazed, she tripped on a root and fell face foreword.

"Itai!"

"Dobe"

"Urusai, teme!"

And maybe she could even study kenjutsu, and add it to her taijutsu…a wind blade…

"Oy dobe, get out of those fantasies!"

* * *

><p>Naruto rubbed her eye as the sunlight peaking through the window tickled her face.<p>

_Damn, did I sleep in?_

Quickly scrambling into her jumpsuit, she rushed down.

The woman in mid twenties was washing the dishes.

"Ah, Naruto san", exclaimed Tsunami with a small smile.

"Ano sa, Tsunami-san, where are the others?"

"They left for the bridge. You were sleeping so deeply that your instructor didn't want to wake you up."

_They left without me? Datttebane!_

"Arigatou, obasan!", she yelled as she ran through the door.

* * *

><p>"The fog..its thick again", murmured Kakashi. Sasuke and Sakura tensed.<p>

"Tazuna-san, get your men away from here.."

"Many of them are scared to work anyway," the man said, disappointment in his villagers apparent in his voice. With a wave, he called of the three people still working.

The mist thickened. Sasuke and Sakura stood in front of the bridge builder, both thinking the same thing.

_Where is Naruto?_

"Seems like its time for the second round, eh Kakashi.."

The mist cleared to show two figures, standing a few feet away at the base of the bridge.

"Where is the blonde brat? I wanted to give her a piece of my mind.." ,growled the nuke-nin, gripping his enormous zanbato.

The boy beside him tensed.

With a malicious laugh, Zabuza created 5 clones.

"Heh, Kakashi, your chicken brat is shaking.."

"Go on, Sasuke", Kakashi calmly allowed the boy, who was indeed shaking, but not of fear, but in anticipation. Adrenaline was running through his veins.

A few slashes were heard, and all the clones splashed around him in a circle. The boy smirked, still crouching, kunai in his hand.

His training was paying off, and most of it was the tree climbing.

_Hn, seems it wasn't really useless._

"Heh, your brat has some talent, Haku..he is all yours"

The boy nodded and disappeared, appearing in a flurry of wind before the raven haired boy. Sakura silently stood her ground, protecting Zabuza, her eyes narrowed and ready to aid her teammate any time.

"Let us dance then, Kakashi!" grinned the man maniacally as their kunai clashed with zambato.

The fog thickened.

Kakashi couldn't see, even with his Sharingan exposed.

He closed his eyes, concentraiting. He felt his voice appear from every angle, making him choose the point where to strike first.

Lungs, kidneys, heart..

But Zabuza didn't know that Hatake Kakashi could fight with other tools. He wasn't dependant on the doujutsu.

A blow that was sure going to crush his skull didn't come, as it was firmly blocked by a kunai.

A feet away from there, Sasuke was dodging ice needles. Once again, the training paid off as he, gathering chakra at the soles of his feet, jumped at the exact right time to avoid being stabbed.

He smirked and engaged the boy in a fierce taijutsu battle.

After being kicked harshly in the gut, the boy jumped back, and seemingly had enough. In flurry of hand seals, ice mirrors began appearing around Sasuke, trapping him and the boy in a dome.

"I see Haku is using that jutsu! You boy is done for, Kakashi!"

Said ninja avoided being cut and eyed the strange dome, trying to figure it out.

* * *

><p>Sasuke covered his face and heart. Those needles were coming from every single direction, he couldn't escape them! And he couldn't even get to a mirror to break it!.<p>

As a new wave of needles came at him, he clasped his eyes tightly, dully noticing the stinging pain where the needles struck. He needed a plan and now!

His eyes registered the scream of 'Sasuke-kun'. He looked up. Sakura was throwing a a few kunai with deadly accurance at the dome from the outside. The boy, Haku, appeared right before they could enter through the small gaps between the mirrors.

"Sakura, get back to Tazuna!" yelled the Uchiha, breathing hard. Said girl nodded, terrified and ran back where she had left the man.

Dully, Sasuke noted that Haku was looking the other way, his hand, which was raised, was frozen in midair.

Suddenly, a whole side of the dome was blasted.

_What?_

Something orange appeared beside him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Na..Naruto?", he asked, perplexed.

And so she was, in all her orange glory, glaring up at the ANBU.

"I am here to help, dattebayo!", she exclaimed, flashing him a 'yo' and an huge grin.

He resisted facepalming. She really was an idiot. If she stayed outside and attack the stupid mirrors, and he did the same on the inside..

"I don't want to fight you, " said a mirror reflection..or was it a reflection? Of the slightly older boy.

"What? Well sorry for the inconvenience but I wont let just stand and watch you hurt my teammates!", the girl practically screamed.

They saw the boy sigh.

"Very well. It really was inevitable after all."

After that, he turned serious, no more words were uttered. He raised his hand, filled with senbon and jumped to another mirror.

"Your brats, both are doomed. Haku is serious", stated Zabuza calmly, swinging his blade.

"I cant copy that justu, that haku, is no ordinary boy is he?" wondered Kakashi, jumping back and blocking the blade. The two were acting as though they were having a casual talk during a tea ceremony or something.

"Oh yes, you got that one right, Copy ninja. His bloodline is very rare and very deadly".

The maniacal grin vanished as soon as he heard the Hatake state.

"My kids aren't pushovers themselves. The black haired boy, is one of the last living members of the Uchiha clan, I am sure you know what that means, Zabuza"

He watched in satisfaction as the man paled. The fog thinned a bit.

"As for the other, She is our number one unpredictable ninja, and the current jinchuuriki, as well as the last living member of her own clan."

If it was possible, the man paled even more. Kakashi, not missing the chance, attacked.

* * *

><p>Naruto and Sasuke were panting, both exhausted. Countless needles were sticking from them.<p>

Staggering to her feet shakily, Naruto created her shadow clones again, all jumping in different directions. Sasuke's eyes followed.

A few minutes later the dome was filled with puffs of smoke again.

"Naruto", urged the boy., " can you do it again? I have a plan.."

"Sure thing, ttebayo, I can still keep going!", she whispered back and created a horde of clones again. Sasuke slowly adjusting to the speed the boy was transferring from mirror to mirror, smirked and quickly made the appropriate hand seals. Taking a deep breath and considering the last poof of the clone as a signal, he blew out a huge fireball.

Haku barely got away, his foot catching fire.

"How..did you.." the older boy's voice trailed away as he gazed into red eyes, each with a spinning black tomoe.

"I see. So you have a kekkei genkai as well. But that still wont work, you can see me move, but your body still cannot keep up with the speed. It is over."

Faster then ever before, needles flew at them again, and just as the boy predicted, Sasuke saw each of them coming, but he wasn't fast enough to dodge.

Now at least he understood the importance of speed. If they ever got out of the mess, he was going to work on it more.

Naruto slumped on the ground, unable to stand.

Haku frowned, and seeing his chance struck.

Sasuke saw those needles, flying in a group right at his blonde teammate. Something in him snapped. His body moved on its own.

Naruto couldn't move a muscle, she could only watch at those senbon flew at her with incredible speed. She closed her eyes and looked away.

She wanted Neji there, she didn't want to die without seeing him first, without telling him some things..

She had failed him. And herself as well.

Obidiently she waited for the pain. It didn't come. She opened her eyes to see a dark blue shirt above her.

Sasuke was smirking, his eyes narrowed, but gazing softly at her. The relief in them made her choke back a sob.

He looked like a human pincushion .

"S-Sasuke..t-teme…naze! Naze, dattebayo!", she sobbed.

"My body moved on its own…"he grunted, loosing balance and falling on stared down at him, tears spilling from her cerulean eyes.

"Naruto..i didn't get to kill him…but you..keep your dream, don't..ever forget it".

Withh a wince, he closed his eyes.

Naruto's eyes widened.

"Sasuke…SASUKE!"

"Was this..the first time you lost a precious person? He gave his life for you.." whispered a soft voice. Naruto raised her head, tears still spilling down her cheeks. Her eyes were blazing in anger.

"You, what the hell do you know, ttebayo! He, Sasuke had a dream too, and now, he will never be able to realize it! I.. WON'T FORGIVE YOU," she screamed. Something inside her snapped.

Two red eyes opened in the darkness.

Red energy started coating her, swirling in uncontrollable circles. She felt her anger consume her, she wanted the boy's blood. Her eyes turned silted and red, her whisker marks broadening. Her blonde hair, falling from the usual bun flew behind her in a hurricane.

She growled and faster then Haku could see, kicked him in the face. The blow shattered all the mirrors and sent him flying a few feet away. He stood up, his mask cracking.

* * *

><p><em>This chakra..<em>

Kakashi's eyes widened. Did the seal..no, its intact, just some of the chakra is leaking out.

Zabuza paled.

"That jinchuuriki girl…"

Now, he really regretted ever taking the mission.

"Time to end this, Zabuza". Kakashi growled out.

"True, but you will fail, Hatake, this eye of yours wont work against me."

Indeed that was true, Kakashi realized. The man had his eyes closed.

The fog thickened around them, making it impossible to see once again.

_You are a fool Zabuza of the Mist._

Opening one of the pockets of his jounin vest, he took out a small scroll. With a swift movement, he opened the scroll, smearing some of the blood from his hand on it. After that he put it in his closed mouth and formed the appropriate seals needed. Zabuza was going to learn why the Hatake were so feared.

_Ninpo:Kuchiyose:Doton: Tsuiga no jutsu!_

_If your eyes are incapacitated, use your other senses.._

The man was caught seconds later, held down by 7 dogs, raging from small to huge.

"It is over", Kakashi muttered, his hand blazing in electricity.

"You are going to see my original justu before your death!"

* * *

><p>The mask shattered.<p>

The red chakra vanished. Naruto's fist was millimeters from the boy's nose.

His face was devoid of all emotion.

"Why did you stop, Naruto. I am useless tool now, I have failed. Kill me."

"H..Haku? So the precious person you were talking about…was Zabuza? But why?"

She started to cry again.

Haku flinched. Her tears affected him greatly, he wanted them to stop.

"Zabuza-sama saved me."

"Huh.."

And the boy told her of his fate, of his bloodline, of his father's actions..everything.

"Shinobi aren't tools, ttebayo!", Naruto punched him, making the boy fall on the ground.

"Where did that strength go, did you forget? I killed your friend!", the boy glared at her.

Naruto looked at the motionless figure of her teammate.

Her blood boiled again, but she couldn't bring herself to kill Haku.

"We..don't we have a choice? I don't understand it..", she sniffed.

"Naruto, kill me please. There is no other way. I have failed and have no purpose to live. Fulfilling Zabuza-sama's dream was my own dream. Now, as I lost, I am of no use to him."

"I..allright."

The blonde raised her fist, ready t strike, tears going down her cheeks all the time.

But..

His hand grabbed her wrist.

" I am sorry Naruto, not this time" With that, he vanished.

Naruto heard something that sounded like a thousand birds chirping.

She ran to the place where her sensei was fighting with Zabuza.

Her eyes widened.

One moment Kakashi was going to pierce the man with his Raikiri, the next moment he felt ice around him and his hand through a small boys.

The boy with Zabuza?

"HAHAHAHA seems my little tool has its uses!" he laughed sending chills down his body. He saw it like in slow motion, the man raising his zambato, prepared to cut through both the boy and him. Like he would let that happed. Pulling his arm off, he hugged the boy to him and jumped back.

Placing Haku on the ground. He turned around.

"You were prepared to kill him along with me." It was a statement.

"He was a mare t-.."

"He gave his life for you!" came a hysterical voice. They both turned to see the blonde girl running at them, her eyes red and puffy, still crying.

"He considered you like a father! He disregarded his own dreams for you, for yours to be accomplished! He did everything, he lived for you! Is this how you treat him! Do you really think of him as a tool? To be used and thrown away when its useless?"

"Stop it child.." said the man in a small voice.

Naruto hiccupped, bringing her hand to her mouth.

"Demon of the Mist? What kind of a demon are you? To lose to suck kids. I wasn't going to pay you anyway."

They looked up. About 50 people stood there, all of them samurai and thugs. In te front a plump short man with mousy eyes hidden behind sunglasses was tapping his foot.

He pointed his walking stick at Haku.

"I owe this one for breaking my arm. Beat him up!"

"Oh no you d-.." Naruto was stopped by Kakashi, who was staring at Zabuza.

"Say kid, you got a kunai?" he asked in a deadly whisper, ripping the bandages around his mouth with his teeth. His hands were unmoving.

Naruto wordlessly threw a kunai at him, which he caught with his teeth.

An animalistic growl escaped him and he dashed to the armed crowd.

They watched him slash and kick all around, being stabbed in the back in the process. Finally e reached his destination. With one fierce look, he slashed the kunai across the man's neck, killing him on the spot.

"Naruto..where's Sasuke-kun?"

It was Sakura. Naruto couldn't even face her. Her gaze lowered. Sakura screamed.

Gatou's thugs were beating up Zabuza, but the man could care less, he had gotten his revenge.

Suddenly, an arrow landed in front of them. All the heads turned to se Inari, his mother and every single member of Nami no Kuni, armed with knives axes, everything they found acceptable.

"Leave!" screamed the child, gripping his crossbow.

Naruto had an idea. Forming her traditional cross sign, she created about 50 shadow clones, all of whom growled.

Kakashi decided to add to the bluff. Creating 50 simple bunshin, but saying they were Kage Bunshin, he and every other cone glanced at the crowd. Was a normal reaction that they fled.

Kakashi went to Zabuza. Naruto trotted to where Sakura was crying over Sasuke. Her eyes glazed over. She had failed to protect her precious person. Sasuke was her friend, and in some way, like a brother. And now, he was…

"He isn't dead..", came a weak, raspy voice. Naruto turned around. It was Haku. The hole in is chest was bleeding freely and his face was loosing color rapidly.

"Death like state..the needles.."

Sakura, hearing this, started carefully removing the needles. After a cough, Sasuke opened his eyes.

Kakashi, carrying Zabuza to where the boy was lying, smiled in relief.

He was safe. All of his students were safe.

He laid the man down beside Haku.

Smiling in relief, Naruto crouched beside Haku.

"You were always softhearted, never willing to kill your opponents, Haku. Did I ever say how proud I was?" murmured Zabuza. Haku smiled, a tar falling from one eye.

"I know now, Zabuza-sama"

"Haku, don't die.." wailed Naruto, gently stroking a stray hair from his face. The boy looked up at her.

"Naruto-chan, you will be strong. I am envious."

"What.."

" envious of the boy, who has stolen your heart. I know that even if I lived we could never be together. I am glad to have met you in my life. Live strong and fulfill your dreams"

He closed his eyes.

_Thank you, for letting me feel what friendship is, and what love is._

_Wherever I got now, I will never forget you._

_Naruto-chan.._

He felt something warm and wet touch his forehead, just as coldness and the calm darkness claimed him.

Silent tars were cascading down on the now cold boy.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and locked her eyes with the single one of her sensei.

"They were real shinobi, and they both died as heroes."

Naruto got up. Sasuke was being helped up by Sakura. The villagers were cheering.

"Sensei..do..are we really tools? To be used? Are we killing manchines?"

"We always have a choice. And the choice is what makes us who we are. Sopme shinobi fight just for the satisfaction of killing, some, for their desires. Killing is a sin, Naruto, but..if you are doing it to save someone dear to you, then its justified. It all matters upon your decision."

"I…", she looked at the lifeless boy, who had a small smile on his face, "i..will get stronger then, to protect my precious people, my village, it's a promise of a lifetime, and..i will NEVER go back on my word, dattebayo!"

Kakashi ruffled her hair.

* * *

><p>A few days later, the bridge was finally finished. The whole village escorted them as they headed back. Naruto eyed the small hill on the lft. This was where they had buried the two heroes.<p>

_I will come to visit whenever I can, Haku, Zabuza jiji._

Smiling to herself, and licking her lower lip, she ran after her teammates. Sakura was pestering Saskue for a date, Kakashi was giggling, nose in the same book (_doesn't he ever get bored?)_ and Naruto was smiling like an idiot, already planning on the epic tale she would tell Neji.

* * *

><p><strong>wave arc end. i made this a bit too sentimental, right? haku is one of my fav characters, and really, like one of my faithful reviewers pointed out, if naruto handnt been in love with neji, she would have ended with haku.<strong>

**review please and tell me what you think of the fight scenes, am i doing a lame job on them? xD**

**i know i skipped the whole naruto saving tsunami thing, but lets just imagine she saved her and just didnt mention anything about it later ok? **

**i would put the 'get it? got it? good!' that i read in a fic, but im not that mean lol, hope you guys liked it.**

**I have posted a poll, please participate in it, i haven't made decision on that matter yet.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Kamizaki Izumo and Hagane Kotetsu sweatdropped nervously, sending each other glances as they stared at the figure pacing around in circles.

"He is walking like that for over an hour..you think we should stop him?" suggested the spiky haired chuunin offhandedly.

"Nah, its always boring out here, at least we are gona have some action"

"You mean Kakashi's team?"

His fellow gatekeeper nodded and they both continued to stare at the young teen.

* * *

><p>Neji was aware that those two chuunin were digging a hole through his head with all the staring, but he could care less. True, it wasn't a common sight to see a gennin waiting near the gates, but they should really keep their professional facades. They were acting like five year old kids! Hm, they were destined to be nothing more then gatekeepers then.<p>

He snorted.

Where the hell _was _Team 7 anyway? Gai had somehow received word that they were returning, but it had already been an hour! They should be back already!

He ran a hand through his hair, pausing. Walking around in circles was so pointless. He settled to leaning against a wooden pole.

He heard the chunnin whisper again.

_Idiots, don't they have anything else to do? They remind of those fangirlsl.._

Neji clasped his fingers in a fist, annoyed. Maybe it would have been better if he hadn't given that idiot the bracelet.

No. It was for the best, at least he knew he managed to help in a way. But it bothered him. What could have happened to make her chakra pulse in irritation and disappear altogether for a few moments? It was just an ordinary C-rank, right?

He remembered asking Gai about it, right after he had felt the chakra stiffen, like ice. He felt her fear. Quickly blocking Lee's punch, he had sent a small wave of warm chakra to the small, invisible seal on the kanji. It seemed to have worked.

He had stopped the spar and went to have a talk with his sensei.

Gai had a thoughtful look on his face that day. He himself knew that something with the mission was off, but he didn't want to trouble his student any more, then he already was. But Neji, with his ability to read people like an open book had caught on the small white lie.

Maito Gai had reassured his student. Kakashi, after all, won't let anything happen to his students, especially Naruto.

That had calmed him down somewhat, but the worry didn't disappear. He had confidence in her, and he knew the Uchiha was no pushover, still, that didn't take away the sickening worry he felt, and anger at himself.

The very same day he felt her chakra waver in and out. He tried to control it, calm it with his own.

Something must be really wrong. They must be facing a strong opponent. But..wasn't the mission a simple escort?

Team Gai watched their comrade brood all day. For a few days, he didn't feel anything out of ordinary in her chakra, and that was the greatest medicine for him. Maybe the threat was gone. Kakashi Hatake was a jounin after all.

But that proved wrong. Neji was in his room that day, getting ready to sleep when he felt it. Something in her chakra had snapped and another was filling it's place, something malicious, sickening, disgustingly powerful.

He feared something had happened to the seal.

No matter what he did, he couldn't stop it, his own chakra was being rejected harshly. Thus he could only wait.

It stopped soon after, but now, he had had it. He was going to the Hokage. Luckily, the green clad jounin had stopped him right before barging in the establishment.

He had news.

Team 7 had successfully finished their mission and was coming back.

He remembered smiling with unhidden gratitude at his sensei, who just clapped his back and yelled about his flames of youth.

Good old Gai..

He had taken it upon himself to greet them, which was the reason why he was waiting near the gates, much to the slight annoyance of Izumo and Kotetsu.

But they were late! They should have been back first thing in the morning, and it was already noon! He had already lost his patience!

"Is that them?"

His head snapped to the distance. Sure enough, 4 figures were lazily strolling (some where running) in the direction of Konoha. He didn't need to activate his Byakugan to know who they were. He would recognize her chakra signature anywhere.

"Yup! Seems they are finally back", grinned Izumo.

Neji closed his eyes, patiently waiting till they arrived.

Fifteen minutes later, during which the tick on the Hyuuga's forehead increased twice in size, the quartet finally reached their destination.

"Sasuke kun…do you want to go out on a date with me? ", came a squeal.

"No"

"But why, we can celebrate our first C-rank!"

"No"

"I am hungry, ttebayo…lets go eat ramen, Sakura-chan!"

"No!"

"Hn, I am going to train…"

"Who shoved the stick up his a-.."

"Naruto-baka!"

Kakashi eye smiled at the sweatdropping chunnin as he handed the pass.

"Naruto, Sakura go home and rest. Especially you, Naruto. I need to report to the Hokage."

He shunshined away. Sakura soon followed in the direction Sasuke left.

Izumo and Kotetsu backed away nervously.

"Naruto.."

Said girl whirled around, her low ponytail flying behind her.

"Neji!", she exclaimed and started to jump/run to him.

His expression froze her in her steps.

He was angry. No wait, scratch that. He was beyond pissed.

"Um…Neji?", she repeated, uncertainly. He was leaking killing intent, and his eyes were downcast, but she could still see the veins on wither side of his head.

His Byakugan was activated.

Involutedly, she took a step back, nervous.

_What the.._

She didn't see him move. But she felt the pain in her arms when he grabbed them, harshly, fingers digging into her jacket.

This was going to leave bruises.

Her head went back and forth with the force he was shaking her with.

"What the HELL happened!", he roared, eyes blazing,

Naruto was scared. Neji NEVER cursed, especially out loud.

"I..let me go Neji!", she screamed, looking down as she shook her head. Her arms were already going numb, and she felt dizzy.

She saw his eyes widen, as though seeing her for the first time. Momentarily, he released her, looking at his hands in horror, comprehending what _exactly _he had just done.

The pronounced veins vanished. He looked away.

The silence that fallowed was unnerving. It was so uncomfortable, as though all the air was sucked through, leaving nothing.

Finally, Naruto spoke.

"We made a deal, remember?"

He stared at her with no emotion.

_So cold._

"I am hungry and you owe me ramen. And I will tell you all about my awesome C-rank, dattebayo!"

And with that, the tension vanished like it had never even been there to begin with.

Hyuuga Neji smirked, nodding.

* * *

><p>She hadn't eaten the Kami of food-ramen for over 2 weeks, which was why she was drooling over it with stars in her eyes.<p>

Neji, who was sitting next to her inwardly wondered if he really was paranoid. She was acting as stupid and idiotic as she always did. Nothing unusual.

She inhaled the first bowl in one gulp and sighed in content.

"Teuchi-jiji! Two more, onegai, ttebayo!"

"Hai, hai, coming right up," came the laughing voice of the chief from the kitchen.

Neji patiently waited. Id didn't take her long to start the tale.

"It was on our second day I think, im not sure..well, anyway, we were attacked on the way. Kaka-sensei had substituted, making us all think he died. It was to check who those to bastards were anyway. So we kicked their asses! Well..i kinda froze up there but then this helped me!", she shoved the bracelet in his face, smiling, " thanks for that. Anyway, turns out those two were former Kirigakure nin! I think Kaka-sensei called them Demon Brothers or something of the sort. Lame name right? I mean, come on, they could be…The Mysterious Duo..or, or dark Angels! Wait..those two were weak, they don't even need a name, dattebayo.."

"Naruto…", came a low growl.

"Ah, right, where was i? Well, we interrogated Tazuna jiji..well, Kakashi-sensei did it. Turns out Wave was in a very bad situation, all poor, no money and the only way to trade blocked by a bad guy. This bad guy, Gatou even killed Inari's foster dad, at least, that's what Sasuke and Sakura told me…don't look at me like that. Inari is Tazuna's grandson. So this Gatou-teme had sent missing nin after Tazuna, cos he was building a bridge and it was crushing his super evil plans"

She slurped the noodles, then turning to the boy, smirked.

"Then we went to Nami no Kuni! That place is just awesome! All surrounded by water. I would love to train in such a place, dattebayo! But the fog was very troublesome, ha! Hehehe, I sound like Shikamaru..oy, dot look at me like that!"

She backed away from the fleeting glare.

"Get a move on with the stroy then, idiot!"

"Tch, Bastard. Well, we were attacked by Zabuza on the way.."

Neji very nearly sputtered. His eyes widened.

"Zabuza? As in, The Demon of the Mist? No wonder I felt those weird chakra pulses from you. He must have used some of his killing intent on you guys."

She nodded, stuffing herself with some more ramen.

"Yup! But Kaka-sensei started fighting him. Somehow, he managed to get in a trap, and Zabuza made clones to come after us. We, of course, kicked their asses big time and freed Kakashi! It was all my super plan..Hey! what's with the raised eyebrow! Wipe that look of your face right now Hyuuga Neji.."

The boy raised his hands in a manner that screamed 'I didn't do anything'.

Deeming it appropriate, Naruto continued, no before popping a read and white swirly in her mouth."Then Kakashi sensei kicked Zabuza's ass, the Sharingan was so cool!"

"So he does have it."

"Yeah, wait how do you know….Wait, you know what, never mind. I don't want to know how those genius minds work. It's a headache.

"Then he passed out from chakra exhaustion. We trained for a week, cos we knew of the second attack..stop staring, wait I guess I forgot to mention, right? Um, well before sensei managed to kill Zabuza an ANBU took him away. So we knew he was a fake and were gona fight him too. Fen I fett Fakuu..". She said the last word with her mouth full.

Neji glared.

She swallowed and rubbed the back of her head.

"Right, gomen. Geez you are so pushy since I came back..who bit you? Right, I was saying that then I met Haku. He turned out to be the fake ANBU. A few days later, the epic battle occurred, dattebayo! Stop with the eye twitching you prick! I was late, cos I was busy saving Tsunami, Inari's mother from additional thugs. When I came to the bridge, Sasuke teme was in a weird ice dome, fighting Haku, and sensei was fighting Zabuza. in a foggy place. Sasuke, he nearly died then."

Her voice darkened.

"Haku used needles to put him in a near death state. I thought he died. After that, I don't remember much, just..being very angry. And there was weird red chakra around me"

"So that was what I felt. You leaked some of the fox's chakra. Did Kakashi check on the seal later?"

"Yeah, he said it was intact, and from what he could figure, it was meant like that. Guess the Yondaime predicted I might need to be able to use it."

"How did you stop it then? I felt it vanish afterwards."

"Well..Haku's mask broke, and I recognized him. The wish to kill him, revenge Sasuke dulled after that. Haku..he had such a cruel childhood. Zabuza was the only one to actually care for him. He wanted me to kill him there. I didn't, I know even if things went differently, I wouldn't b able to do it. Injure him, yes, but not take his life.

Sensei was going to kill Zabuza, but Haku jumped in front of him, taking the blow. It was very powerful jutsu, and cool too.."

Neji lowered his eyes to his untouched ramen. It was cold by now.

"In the end, it turned out that they were fooled and betrayed by Gatou. Zabuza killed him. We helped get rid of all the thugs, Inari helped too.

After that we spend a few days helping complete the bridge. We buried Haku and Zabuza. You know, he taught me something very important"

She smiled, her eyes burning with passion.

"He made me understand why power was needed and why did I train, why did I want to become a Hokage."

She looked at him.

"To protect my precious people. And, even if they still don't see me as Uzumaki Naruto, but one day I will gain their trust and love. And I will protect the villagers, everyone, every child, every jiji in this village. I will protect Konoha. It's a promise..and.."

"And you never break your promises.", he finished for her, returning the smile.

"Dattebayo!" chanted Naruto, eyes sparkling.

Neji ate his miso ramen in silence. Suddenly the cold food felt warm. He knew he shouldn't have been worried. She was strong. Wherever this Haku was, he thanked him from the very depth of his heart.

After drinking the last of the soup, he turned to look at her. His heart felt calm, now that she was back safe and sound, next to him. For the onlookers who knew the boy, it would seem as life returned back to him.

She was slurping her 13th bowl of ramen lousily.

_Wait.._

"Naruto…why are you wearing dark blue pants? Didn't you leave in all orange?"

The girl froze, nearly choking on her ramen. Her face turned deep red.

"Does..this have anything to do with the fact that you guys were a few hours late?", he continued, his eyebrow arched.

He watched her redden further, trying to make herself smaller and invisible.

"Wait..", he gave her a once over with a critical eye," don't tell me…"

She covered her head with her hands.

Something clicked inside him. Or was it an imaginary light bulb? He would never know. All he knew that seconds later his shoulders shook as uncontrollable laughter escaped him.

It slowly turned to snorts.

She tried to hit him with an empty bowl.

She really IS a funny, annoying and simply adorable.

He smirked at her, enjoying her expression of pure anger.

**Flashback:**

Team 7

15 miles from Nami no Kuni.

The forest

5:42 am

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!"screamed a voice in his ear, effectively waking him up. He rolled over to peer at his youngest student, who was pale and shaking in fear.

Even through his half asleep state, his nose caught a metallic smell.

Blood?

His eye widened when he realized Naruto was whimpering. His eye roamed over her and fixed on her orange pants.

Blood.

_Kami hates me…_

"Sensei…I have a lot of things to accomplish, I don't wanna die so early, am I dying? I am dying, right?"

His mouth opened and closed a few times. No sound came out.

Naruto wailed.

"Shhh! You will wake up Sasuke and Sakura. Alright…er, I think Kurenai gave me something before we left.."

_More like shoved in my hands and threatened to burn all my Icha Icha if I 'accidentally' left it home._

He dug into his cream bag, an anxious Naruto watching his every move. Finally taking out the package, he threw it at the girl.

"Read it, it has instructions and explains..stuff. And you will need to change out of those pants.." he sweatdropped.

The girl ran into the nearby bushes.

_Kami REALLY hates me. I can almost hear Obito and Minato sensei laughing at me…_

**Flashback end:**

"No wonder you were moving sluggishly today", Neji commented.

She huffed, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

He shrugged it off and got up, dusting himself.

"You really need to do something about that jacket of yours. Its already tearing. I knew it wouldn't survive even a small C-rank. Not to mention a C turned high B and close to A rank."

She patted her jacket.

"But it's Saru jiji's gift…"

He eyed her.

She 'hmph'-ed.

"Other stores wouldn't let me in.", she stated.

"When was that?"

"Three years ago? That was when jiji got me the jumpsuits. After that I didn't even bother going to stores."

"Hm.", he grunted. She stood up and after thanking Teuchi (and paying on Neji's part), they left.

"You know, they started to slowly change their opinions on you".

She stared at him wide eyed.

"Hontou?"

"Hai. But, if you are still worried, try Higarashi-san's store. He is Tenten's grandfather, a retired shinoi. His store has all the essentials a ninja needs. All the Hyuuga clothes are specially crafted there. You can choose from the supplies, or you can order it to be made. He is not a superstitious man, trust me."

Naruto was in deep thought.

"Ok, I'll give it a try, plus I want to look at other things too, ttebayo! So, where is it? Lets go!"

He looked at her alarmed.

"I am not going with you."

Her hands flared around.

"Naze, ttebayo!"

"I will not go shopping, its so…", he couldn't quite find the word.

"You are getting me there!", she pointed her finger at him angrily.

He swatted it away.

"No."

"Please?"

"No…"

"Come on Neji-teme!"

"No!"

* * *

><p>He rubbed his forehead. How the hell did she convince him anyway? He looked sideways at her. She was nervous.<p>

Sighing, he grabbed her wrist and promptly pulled her in.

"Sugoi!", she whispered, awed. The entrance was in the main section of the shop, which was weaponry. Her eyes bulged at the various projectiles meant to cause pain or death, varying from senbon, to kunai, to katanas of various length and sizes, from wooden clubs to axes..it was heaven for weapons specialists.

"That's what I said too, when Tenten dragged me and Lee here for the first time", he stated with a smile, also looking around.

"Its always different. Last time I was here, half of those katanas weren't here. Higarashi-san exports and imports stuff too, that's why he has shinobi equipment from nearly all the Hidden Continents", he added. Naruto's eyes were nearly bulging.

The idea of a katana was stuck in her mind since the mission, since the day she decided to make an awesome wind based taijutsu.

And now, she knew where to buy them!

"Neji-san!", came a surprised voice from their right. Naruto jumped slightly and turned around, nervously wriggling her hand free from Neji's in the process.

"Higarashi-san," bowed Neji.

"Ah, I see you brought a friend". He had a kind voice. It matched his look. He was short, plump, had a small mustache and his long once rich brown hair, which had paled due to the years, was tied in a bun on top of her head.

His eyes were sparkling.

"Is the bun hairstyle traditional, dattebayo?" wondered Naruto.

Neji facepalmed. _So rude…she is going to be the death of me. Why did I agree to this in the first place?_

The old man, however, chuckled.

"Yes, it is"

Naruto smirked widely.

"Hajimemashite, Higarashi-jiji! I am Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo! The number once most unpredictable gennin, and future Hokage!"

The man ruffled her hair, much to the indignant look from Neji.

"Why did I even come here..", he murmured, rubbing his eyes. It had been a long day and he was tired.

"Neji-san, why don't you sit and relax why the lady chooses what she needs?"

"That's a great idea, ttebayo! Go rest, Neji!"

He complied.

Five minutes later he was fast asleep in the cozy armchair.

Naruto sweatdropped.

* * *

><p>Hey eyes widened ash she touched the three pronged kunai with her finger. She had no idea they were also custom made. Maybe, when she finished her elemental manipulation and started on the Hiraishin, she could ask the man to make her some?<p>

Hey eyes flicked over the shelf full of kunai, varying in sizes and shapes, to the wall with katanas. Her mouth watered.

"Are you interested in kenjutsu, Naruto-san?"

She nearly jumped off her skin again. The man was like a ghost, ttebayo!

"Er..yeah, I was having a weird idea lately, but I don't know if it could work, my kunai didn't last long after I tried it..", she muttered in a whisper, not wanting to wake up the hyuuga boy sleeping nearby.

"And what might that be?"

She complimented on weather it was safe to tell or not. Neji trusted him. She shouldn't doubt him as well.

"Well,", she started nervously, "I had added some wind chakra, it wasn't the best, I still havwe very little control of it, but the kunai just broke into shreds after I used the attack. And my hand was sliced too.."

"Hm. Well, that's is because your kunai is made of simple metal. There is a special type of metal that allows chakra to pass through. Sarutobi Asume, a wind user jounin, had asked me long ago to make him weapons like that."

"Whoa…can you make me a katana like that?"

"Of course."

"Um, ano..say jiji…if I tell you the properties I want for the katana.."

He just smiled and patted her on the shoulder.

"Arigatou!"

"Just write what exactly is needed here..", he gave her a blank piece of paper and a pen.

"And, well..i kind of want custom made clothes too… and I want this", she turned around, showing im her back, and more importantly, the red spiral on the back of her jacket ,"and this", se pointed to the same swirl, clasped to her shoulder ,"on the clothes. I always had those two so I think it might be a clan thing, plus Jiji wouldn't let me throw it away when I was 3, so.."

The man nodded.

"Just put down what you need and how you want it done."

Se smirked and grabbing the pen, started drawing her future epic battle costume.

She missed the small, sad smile cast in her direction, and the sigh that escaped the old man as he watched the her.

When she was done, se proudly presented the now filled paper to Higarashi. His eyes roamed it, widening a bit.

"You are one tricky customer, eh? Uzumaki san. I will have both the outfit and the katana ready in a month."

She grinned widely. She just hoped the time was enough to realize all her plans.

"Thanks Jiji! You are awesome!

* * *

><p>She skipped to the sleeping boy.<p>

"WAKE UP NEJI!"

The poor boy jumped on his feet and ripped on a pare cloth on the floor, landing face-first on the floor.

Groaning and cursing the blonde to seven pits of hell, he got up.

"You finished?", he winced, rubbing his head.

She nodded, smiling mysteriously.

The Hyuuga decided he didn't want to know.

Instead, he silently led the way out, after bowing to the shop owner.

Naruto followed his lead, still smiling.

* * *

><p>"Oy, Neji! Lets have a spar!", she shouted.<p>

The boy shrugged.

"Soon, you will have your chance to kick 'my ass', as you always say it..and never succeed"

"Huh? What do you mean?

"Nothing of importance"

Clearly this answer didn't suit with the blonde girl for she stomped her foot and glared at him.

Neji looked at her, his smirk vanishing from his face, leaving a solemn, guilty expression.

Quickly taking her hand, he pulled the sleeve up, much to the protests and struggling of the blonde.

"What are you.."

His finger traced the bruised blue spots. He gritted his teeth.

Naruto hastily pulled the sleeve down.

"I really don't get what was wrong with you that time..you were so..scary..", she whispered.

But he had heard. His eyes widened as he took a step back, his mouth opening slightly.

_If something happened to you, I wouldn't be able to live through, Naruto. You have become my eyes, my light. I would be lost without you._

But he couldn't say it. Se already feared him when he lost control. It would only make things worse.

Naruto ignoring him, fearing him, looking at him like at a monster….

Maybe it would have been better if they never met.

His hand lowered, hanging limply at his side. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know how to explain it to her.

He was prepared to strangle the Sandaime and go rushing after her.

Tenten, Lee, even Hinata…they thought he couldn't hear them when they whispered behind his back about his condition for those 2 weeks.

They were saying he had become a shell of the person he used to be, like something was taken away from him. They were worried about the light that had died in his eyes. He had become more antisocial then ever before, shut in his room or training to keep his mind off..things.

He couldn't tell her that. But, he somehow needed to show her how..

How glad he was, how happy he was that she came back in one piece.

The disease had turned to this. Occupying his mind constantly. He even forgot to look for a cure. It didn't matter, he didn't matter.

Her well being was what mattered. She mattered.

Without a split second hesitation, he hugged her, nearly crushing the small, surprised blonde to his chest.

He waited till she relaxed in his arms. When she did, he exhaled and buried his face in her hair, murmuring barely audibly." Don't you dare die on me, Uzumaki…"

* * *

><p><strong>Time to start my rant.<strong>

**Naruto is NOT acting like a fangirl. she just misses neji. its perfectly normal behavour of a girl in love. she doesnt stick to him like a leech and flirt shamelessly or ask to go on dates. she thinks of him when something reminds her of him, like the bracelet. she was in a near death situation, its normal for her to wish he was there with her. he is her first friend after all, and her love. go reread the chap. she doesnt think of him every 5 minutes. then again, if you dont like it, no one makes you read.**

**next. its not gona be sasusaku. sasuke most prolly wont have a pairing in this fic. i said he started to see her in a new light, not that he was falling for her. if you guys remember well, he has a small crush on naruto.**

**the fighting scenes, ill work on it. forgive me for the typos. english is my 3rd language after all.**

**right what else?**

**on, right, the wave arc. if you wanted some epic changes, go read another fic. what did you want? itachi and kisame appearing in the middle? naruto dying and getting revived by the kyuubi? merging with the fox? this isnt a fic where naruto meets the foxs and has a personality change in one night, and is more powerful then a kage after a moth training. i had stated perfectly well a few times that i am following cannon till a point i deem right.**

**what does this mean? no major changes. and if you handnt noticed it, there were actually a lot of changes.**

**what else? right, i wont bash any characters. sakura haters, even if i dislike her too, i wont use that a reason for . her fangirl mode will soon go away, just like it did in the anime/manga.**

**if you dont like it, dont read.**

**rant over.**

**hope you enjoyed the chap.**

**Chapter is reread and mistakes fixed. **


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

**Next day, 11:00 am, training ground 7**

"Yo!"

"You're late!"

"Well, there was this little old lady crossing the street and I, like any other gallant shinobi flet the obligation to..-"

"LIAR!"

It was a typical morning for Team Kakashi. This had even become some sort of a ritual. They would come early, catch their sleep or converse, a few hours later their sensei would appear with a smile and make up a utterly idiotic excuse (they even had the favourites. Naruto simply loves the 'lost on the road of life' one. Sometimes, they would entertain themselves with a bet. What excuse will he use).

"Maa, no need to make people go deaf this early in the morning", laughed off the one-eyed jounin.

With a quick motion, he pulled his orange book out.

"You know, I know its porn, but still I'm curious _what_ is written there to make him reread it like..a 100times!", exclaimed Naruto in a loud whisper to the two.

They both nodded, though Sasuke, a bit reluctantly.

"My kawaii gennin.."

They gulped. Kakashi had a weir eerie look that creeped them out.

"Today…we are going to do some serious training!"

"So you mean that before that, it wasn't serious?", hissed Sasuke, glaring at the man.

He just waved a hand around vaguely.

"I need you three to be in the best shape!"

"Naze..?", inquired Naruto, suspicious, "You are talking like we would need to fight soon, or something like that…"

Why did this remind her of what Neji had told her?

Kakashi eye-smiled and ruffled her hair.

"Well, if Gai told his students, I had better tell mine as well.."

Gai, Neji's sensei..

Naruto felt giddy and excited for some reason. She looked at her teammates. Sakura was confused, but Sasuke…he was wearing the exact same expression as her.

_Tch, teme!_, she thought fondly.

All three leaned towards their sensei.

"As you know, every six months, the chuunin exams take place.", he started and carefully observed them.

Sasuke's eyes went round, then narrowed as a small smirk appeared.

Sakura frowned, deep in thought.

Naruto however, smiled wickedly.

_So THAT'S what he meant. Hehehe, I am so gona kick his butt, dattebayo!_

"Now…this year, Konoha will be hosting the exams. We do not know the exact time yet, but all I know that its going to be soon"

His eye focused back on his book. He didn't have time to read out even a single line when he was knocked backwards as something orange tackled him in a death hug.

She was screaming 'sensei, thank you' and 'sensei I love you' over and over again.

He patted her head.

"Maa, Naruto, I never said I was going to sign you guys up…"

He watched her smile twist itself in a perfect 'O'. Seconds later she was gaping at him, horrified. He felt a weak killing intent. Sasuke was pissed.

Lazily, he picked Naruto up and tossed her unceremoniously to the other two. Carefully dusting himself and picking up his fallen book, he stated in a calm, serious voice.

"You are still very inexperienced. The death toll is very high in the exams. You need to be ready. That is why, I will give you two weeks. I will train you, and in the end, if you prove to me that you are strong, I will sign you up.".

He turned a page and giggled. But those who knew Hatake Kakashi, the real one, not the perverted lazy one, would know that he was carefully watching them, waiting.

They didn't disappoint him. Naruto screamed almost instantly that she will do whatever training he threw at her. Next to her, Sasuke smiled and nodded, fire burning in his eyes. He would do it as well. In the exam, he could test himself against powerful opponents. His eye landed on Sakura. She was unsure. It was plain obvious. She was biting her lip, looking away from all three of them.

He waited. She was like Rin, she wouldn't give up.

His prediction came true, when she balled her hands into fists and walked over to stand between her teammates.

A shout of 'SHANNARO' and 'DATTEBAYO' nearly cost him his hearing.

Rubbing his ears (AND checking if they still worked properly), he faced them, all traces of laziness gone, along with Icha Icha paradise, which was safely tucked in his hip ponch.

The single grey eye narrowed.

This was the former ANBU, Hatake Kakashi in front of them now.

So, the training began.

The first thing that he did, was attaching 4 inches long and 2 inches wide, light grey straps on their wrists and ankles. Ignoring the questioning gazes (even if some of them clearly screamed 'he has gone senile'), he ordered them to run laps around the training ground. It was 5 times bigger then the clearing they trained in while in Wave.

His smirk told them this wasn't going to be pleasant. And true to their thoughts, it turned not just unpleasant, but 'pleasantly' sadistic.

They hadn't ran 2 feet when they heard him.

"Juryo Niju, Fuuin!"

All three dropped to the ground like rocks, making dents.

Naruto unstuck her head from the ground and glared at the smiling jounin bitterly.

"Chakra weights," she spat, gelling up with difficulty. Those innocent grey straps..had chakra weight seals engraved into them. And judging from the incantation Kakashi used, their weight had doubled. She looked at the straps attached to her sandals. Yup. These stupid things distributed the weight equally between the whole body. Her hands shook. She could even heave herself up.

But she had to admit, it was ingenious. This way, their speed (which was what they were working on) would increase in leaps.

She looked sideways. Pink hair was splattered on the ground. She sweatdropped. Sakura hadn't even tried to get up.

She heard a pained grunt from the right. Her eyes widened. Sasuke was nearly back on his feet!

Heck no, she wouldn't lose to that teme! Yelling at her hands and feet to actually stop burning and hurting all over, she slowly raised herself up, smirking at her rival along the way.

"Sakura, you too, get up. I want 10 laps around the field. You guys should be thankful I am taking this easy on you."

Three groans were heard.

* * *

><p>"Ano, sensei.."<p>

Kakashi looked up from his book.

They had long finished the laps, and were nearly dead by the end of it. But he could have none of that. Thus, he instructed them on their individual training. He had tossed Sakura a scroll, containing simple, the most basic medical jutsu, and a small scroll containing simple genjutsu. The pinkette, after all, needed the most work. That was why she was sitting in a shade of a tree, reading the scrolls.

Sasuke was practicing his taijutsu katas. It was extremely difficult, due to the doubled weight, but Kakashi had deemed it efficient. They had also discussed his Sharingan, which had activated at the Wave mission. That was why Sasuke was training his eyes as well. He only had one tomoe in each eye. He wanted at least two for the exam. And even then, he wouldn't be able to do any genjutsu. That required 3 tomoes.

However, he could already copy jutsu. But Kakashi, wanting him to understand a few simple principles, such as ethics, made the boy swear not to steal from his friends, and copy their jutsu only and only when they were given permission to.

Plus, the boy shouldn't be dependant on it. It could cost him his life.

Lastly, Naruto.

After finishing the laps, she started practicing her taijutsu as well. It still had flaws. It was evident that style wasn't for her.

He was surprised when he saw her come near, but schooled his face quickly.

"Yes, Naruto?"

"Well, I have been thinking lately..my taijutsu, I have a lot of ideas, but I need a start, and well, for that, I need your help, and advice…", she was pulling at her lower lip again.

"Fire away," he eye-smiled.

"Well, I want to add my wind chakra, but I cant control it well, I cant even cut a stupid leaf in a clear half, ttebayo!", she stomped her foot.

"And, well, I wanted to try out kenjutsu too, like..add it to my taijutsu. Can you please teach me?"

This was unexpected. He stayed silent, watching her for a long time. She stared right back, determined.

He sighed and ran a hand through his silver hair.

"Fine. But I am not that good at it. I will teach you the basics. Make a few clones and get them to tree walking and leaf cutting.", he instructed, looking away from her absolutely delighted face.

She hurriedly made a cross sign. 50 clones popped in existence.

In the chaos, Kakashi also made a clone.

While Sasuke and Sakura were distracted by the sheer number of Naruto's, the real Kakashi grabbed her shoulder and in a poof of smoke, they were gone.

"Oy, Naruto baka! Why did you make so many clones?"

Before a Bunshin Naruto could answer (or be hit in the head by an enraged Sakura), Kakashi intervened.

"This is her training exercise. Go back to yours, you two."

Then he sat on his rock, reading the book.

* * *

><p>Naruto stared at her surroundings. She was in a weird house. It was in a deserted district.<p>

This was where the clan houses where. She knew that Somewhere down the road where the Inuzuka and Aburame compounds. And on the left, was Namikaze Minato's house. It was blocked ad caved in with wooden rods.

She eyed the house in front of her and raised a questioning eyebrow at her sensei, who was standing beside her.

He ignored it and swiftly walked in, beckoning her to enter as well.

She looked around, mouth wide. It was a very beautiful place, and..a bit weird. It was in an old Barocco style. The closest wall was full of what looked like…wolf fangs. Different sizes.

The red, faded carpet creaked as she stepped on it. Dust rose in circles. The light coming from the unique, old window illuminated the dusty fog. Se could almost feel the ancient time compressed in it. She coughed and turned around silently.

"Kaka-sensei?"

He had disappeared in a dark passage to the right. She leaned a bit, trying to get a better look. The pictured on the walls made her feel as if she was being watched.

She shivered. The air was cold and the dust in the air tickled her. An old armchair, with silver and gold designs on it stood at a weird angle, away from the enormous stone fireplace. She squinted her eyes, taking a closer look. It had engraved seals around it. The whole shelf above it was filled with books. She took a step towards it, smelling the air.

The weird, but deviously pleasant smell of old paper filled her nostrils. There was also a tiny bit of ozon...

It smelled like the air after a rain. She loved that smell. But it creeped her out. She was inside a building after all, not outside.

"Whoa…what is this place..", she whispered, afraid of making any noise. Something about this place just scared her. She half expected a transparent, pearly white being with ruby red yes spring from one of the dark places..like the fireplace, the passage, the gloomy ceiling..even the half hidden exotic frames of the pictures.

_A ghost is going to come at me, and kill me, and I'll never become Hokage.._

"You read too much manga, Naruto", a croaky, vibriant voice hissed in her ear.

She let out an earsplitting shriek and jumped, backing away. Her eyes were wide and darting here and there.

She heard laughter.

Kakashi was holding a hand over his masked mouth, shaking. Tears came from his single eye.

"SENSEI-TEME, THAT'S NOT FUNNY!"

* * *

><p>"Come now, you prank people all the time. Plus consider it as a comeback for the chalk filled brush."<p>

They were in the training grounds near the weird ghostly house. Naruto seethed, brushing the whitish dust from her golden locks.

"Stupid sensei, stupid prank", she muttered murderously, yanking at her hair and making the copy nin chuckle.

"Why did we even go there? What was the place anyway? Did you do it just to scare me, datebayo!"

"Maa. That was just the old Hatake compound. Its been deserted for over 20 years or so. I just went there to get the bokken for your training.

Naruto rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, a soft 'oh' escaping her.

"But you still didn't need to scare me like that senseeeeeei~", she whined, pulling a long face.

"You just need to learn keeping your thoughts to yourself. So it was your fault to begin with."

He got a glare as indication that she heard him. he rolled his visible eye. She was so funny to tease. But it was time to get serious.

"Now..", he threw her a wooden bokken., "lets start."

She caught it with her right hand and brought it up to her face.

"Bring it on, old man!"

A tick mark appeared on the silver haired man's jaw. _Old man? i am only 26!_

"Your posture is all wrong." He poked her shoulder. She toppled on the ground, headfirst.

"Can't I at least take off the chakra weights, onegaiiii.", she begged, waterfalls of tears going down her whiskered cheeks.

Her puppy eyes didn't work.

"Get up. In order for you to harness kenjutsu..and taijutsu as well, you need to learn one of the most basic things. Balance. And this is what we are going to do…"

Naruto gulped.

* * *

><p>It had already been two weeks. All three were anxious. Kakashi had dismissed all training when he had spotted an eagle flying in the skies.<p>

They concluded it was some sort of a warning. So they waited.

All three of them had progressed greatly. Sasuke's taijutsu attacks were much more devastating. And he had even invented a few oh his own personal combos. His Sharingan now carried 2 tomoes in both eyes. He had kept his promise to Kakashi. Copying jutsu from friends and allies was forbidden. Unless he learned it himself without cheating, like everyone else did. Kakashi had also warned him about the dangers of copying and doing jutsu he might be incapable of. This could be caused due to different elemental affinities, the chakra in ones circulatory system and the control one had over said chakra. His speed had increased and his control was much better now. Is Gokakyu was twice bigger in size and its power had increased. To say the boy was pleased would be an understatement.

Sakura, like all three of them was much faster now. Her taijutsu was weak, but if left alone, she wouldn't be helpless. She had practiced the chakra fist, and the dents she could create with just two weeks of training were scaring the other three. Kakashi had mentioned multiple times that she was a mini Tsunade. She even used Naruto and Sasuke as guinea pigs for her medical jutsus. ( "Naruto-chaaaan, get back here you baka! I need to train on you!".." Sorry Sakura-chan, i..forgot to water the pigs on my way here..ttebayo"…"Sasuke-kun! Take your shirt off, I need to see the bruise".."Hn.I..er, the pigs need assistance in watering") Now, she could heal small cuts and scratches efficiently. She could even cast simple genjutsu. She ad made it her first priority to learn the stupid one Kakashi had cast on her during the bell test.

Naruto had improved most out of the three (much to Sasuke's annoyance and anger). Her speed had doubled up already, her chakra control much better. She had even succeeded in cutting the leaf in a clear half! Kakashi was dumbfounded. But he had warned her against trying the second stage, which he had explained to her. It was dangerous, and couldn't be done without supervision, since the possibility of her leaking out kyuubi chakra was too high. But despite that, Naruto had smiled. She was slowly getting closer to what she had planned.

Her kenjutsu was going extremely slow. But she didn't rush it. She wouldn't be able to learn anything perfectly in such a short time anyway. Plus she wanted it to be kept secret till she was ready to reveal it. And till her blade was made.

She really wanted to see Neji's face when she did it. If she could complete what had in mind of course.

And that wasn't easy.

Her kenjutsu training had fixed her footing and balance perfectly, thus her taijutsu got better. Other then that, she knew simple stances of the most primitive dance. Kakshi said he wouldn't teach her a style, she would have to find and create one herself. She simply loved that idea, pictures already flashing in her mind.

She had it all planned out.

But she needed advanced seals for it to work out, and she needed a small guide to making new seals. But the planned visit to the secret library room had to be postponed. She had to focus on the exams and had no spare time. Using 50 clones daily took a toll on her.

She rubbed her wrist nervously, looking at her teammates.

After all the torture..er, training they had endured, Kakashi just HAD to sign them up. If not, she was going to prank the life out of him.

Sakura was leaning over the railing, looking at the peaceful water flowing beneath. Naruto was sitting on it, also staring at the water.

Her hand gripped the bracelet. The grey strap was attached to it.

Sasuke was leaning on the other side of the bridge, is eyes downcast.

_Tch, teme is brooding._

"Yo!"

They immediately jumped in front of him, even forgetting their customary 'you're late' and the lame excuse.

"I had to water some suspicious pigs on the way, so…"

Sakura's eye twitched.

Naruto glared at her sensei.

"That's my line, ttebayo.."

"Hn."

He just eye-smiled and raised his hands in a giving up gesture.

"Right, since you guys were all so persistent…here you go."

He handed each of them a form.

They were grinning hugely.

"Arigatou, sensei, just you wait, we will become chuunin, ttebayo!"

"Hn."

"Shannaro!"

Kakashi just ruffled their hair.

"Well, I was going to nominate you guys anyway, since me and Gai made a bet right after we came back from the mission, but seeing my kawaii gennin so spirited…"

Three killing intents filled the small, innocent bridge.

One Hatake Kakashi decided it was time to flee.

* * *

><p><strong>er, i have no idea how old kakashi is in the naruto serius at that time so i made his age up. dont sue me for it. plus he looks young. <strong>

**right, what else? boring chap, i know, but this was needed. team 7 wont be a pushover.**

**hope you guys enjoyed. **


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

"You seem in high spirits."

He just stared at his calloused hands, which were clasped together and the small crook his folded feet made. He was sitting cross legged, meditating. His closed eyes opened slightly. Lavender peered through to swatch the other two figures.

"Indeed you seem to be burning with power of Youth, my Youthful friend!"

"Lee…use that word once, or, better yet, don't use it at all, please."

"But Tenten flower-san!"

She just rolled her eyes and turned to her other teammate, a kunai rolling in her thumb.

"Spill, Neji."

He sighed and raised his head, knowing something like this would happen sooner or later. better get it over with till it was too late.

"You heard the news as well. The rookie teams are participating this year."

The rolling stopped. She gripped her kunai, raising a suspicious brow.

"And this made you so..happy?"

He blinked owlishly at her.

"Happy?"

"Why yes, my youthful rival!", added Lee, jumping in front of him, "the youthful grin of your makes my heart flutter from the power of youth you r-..". Tenten smacked a gloved hand over his mouth, effectively stopping the green-clad boy from sprouting any more rubbish.

Turning her head, she stated bluntly.

"You have had that idiotic, goofy smile on your face all evening, Neji"

The boy stared at her in utter horror.

"Now that's more like you. I was afraid someone was impersonating you!"

Neji just scratched his hair, face blank. Inwardly he was in a turmoil. The stupid disease again! Truth was that he couldn't wait to see how much she had improved. They hadn't seen each other since that day they ate ramen. Both were training. And Neji wanted to fight her. He wanted her to show her true power, knowing that there will be an audience. It was a way to show those stupid civilians who she was.

Maybe they would even recognize her as Namikaze's heir.

She looked like his female carbon copy. Only the shape of her eyes was different. They were simply too blind to realize the truth.

He knew this perfectly well, because he had been like that too.

He sighed, unknowingly, the soft smile returning to his face.

Tenten suddenly gasped and put her hand to her mouth.

Lee looked at her weirdly.

"Uh, Tenten flower..?

"Don't tell me you…", she rudely pointed at him, disbelief evident in her wide eyes.

Neji glared at her, all traces of the smile gone.

"Awww, it's the one who helped you, right?"

His fingers twitched.

"Yes", he nodded curtly.

"I know it! It's a _girl _right?"

The Hyuuga coughed and looked determinedly away from her.

Next thing he knew was the faces of his two teammates inches away from his won, both wearing identical, evil smirks and amusement, which masked the slight astonishment.

"What,", he demanded, irritated at their childish behavior, leaning as far away from them as possible. The shit eating, blinding grin from Lee was making his head spin already. His hand hit the wooden training pole. Why did he have to be sitting here again?

"Who is this Youthful girl! I will name her as my rival, equal to you!"

"Who is she? We tried looking for her but after that incident (que a glare at Lee) with Hyuuga Ogichi we let it drop. So, will you tell us?"

Neji stared at them.

_Wait..they tried to find out?_

_Hyuuga Ogichi?_

He racked his brain, trying to remember.

Finally, it clicked.

"Ah, right, the only son of a very weird family in the Branch clan. They have a weird tendency of naming their children backwards. His fathers name is Ichigo…".

All three sweatdropped.

"Well, you are one to talk, your family names all the kids staring with an 'H'," stated Tenten. This earned her a glare.

"Uh, right, sorry, no more jokes on that. So, who is she?"

He smiled. Those two were his friends, they deserved to know, plus it was time they stopped hiding their friendship.

Something in his chest clenched at that word, as though not wanting to accept it. He frowned. After the exam, he would have a talk to Hiashi. This was getting out of hand.

"Well!", they chorused, invading his personal space even more.

He smiled.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

He was met with two blank looks.

His eye twitched.

"She is from Team Kakashi"

Tenten smirked and walked a few steps back, brandishing her kunai again. Lee followed suit, bending down and pulling his right hand up horizontally.

The poor wooden stump didn't know what was coming at it, or else it would have sprouted legs and ran.

Akunai went sailing through the air, right at the white-eyed boy. He didn't move.

The blade imbedded itself on the dummy hanging right above his head. The place where it had landed would make any man wince.

She smirked.

"Team Kakashi, huh? This is going to be interesting. You want to fight her, am I correct?"

Her smirk was met with a equal one from the boy, if not bigger. They both turned to their teammate.

The kicking stopped. The blisters and dust flying around him settled down, revealing a determined Lee, his enormous eyebrows furred. He had a small smirk as well.

"Uchiha Sasuke is on that team as well. I wish to fight him."

"Team Gai against Team Kakashi then?"

"Why am I reminded of their rivalry and that jan ken pon…"

All three sweatdropped and burst out laughing.

It really was going to be interesting.

Neji ran a hand through his hair, staring at the darkening sky. There was no cloud to be seen.

So he was correct. Tenten was over her crush on him. That was good, he really wouldn't want to ruin the friendship they have.

Friendship..huh?

He was sure that he and his teammates, even Gai shared that feeling, but with her…

Naruto.

Their friendship was different.

He couldn't explain it, but it was something much more, deeper, more confusing.

And he couldn't explain it.

And it frustrated him. She was the only one that made him he have such conflicting thoughts and emotions, swirling around in utter chaos every time he thought of her, or saw her.

So confusing.

* * *

><p>Sasuke had left, saying something about more training. Sakura wanted to go after him but a look from Naruto stopped her.<p>

"He doesn't like it when you do that, cant you see he despises when his fangirls cling to him like leeches? Plus he should relax, all he thinks about is training.."

Sakura wanted to hit the blonde, but seeing the truth in her words, restrained herself. They slowly walked together in the direction of the academy.

Sakura bit her lip. Naruto knew something was bugging her, but she knew better then to pull the words out of her mouth. The pinkette could be scary when she wanted to.

She would say it eventually, if the darting of her eyes and her posture were any indication.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, it came. Naruto wanted to pat herself on the back for guessing right. One thing she learned from Neji was reading people. She was nowhere good as him or other Hyuuga, of course, but she was decent, and people like Sakura were exceptionally easy to read.

"Naruto..".Her voice was low and there was slight fear in it. The blonde slowed her steps and looked at her teammate.

"Hm?"

"Well, do you like Sasuke? As in..romantically?"

Her emerald eyes were piercing through her. Her shoulders shook as she closed her hand over her own mouth trying to stifle the laughter.

Needless to say, she didn't manage it and in mare minutes was rolling on the floor, laughing.

Sakura's eye twitched rather violently.

"Na…Ru…To…", she growled each syllable out., cracking her knuckles.

Sensing danger, the blonde quickly got up, her laughter turning to soft snickers.

She put a hand on the pinkette's shoulder and looking straight in her eyes smiled, declaring vehemently that Sasuke-teme was like a brother to her.

Sakura smiled gratefully.

"Besides..", Naruto trailed off uneasily, a light blush adoring her cheeks. This didn't escape Sakura's attention.

"Naruto…are you in _love_?"

The blonde yelped and tripped. The rocky ground wasn't the best place to have you head smashed in.

"No!", she screamed, shaking her head emphatically, hiding her bright red face from her squealing teammate

"Tell me who it is, Na~ru~to~"

She girl's sparkling eyes were digging holes into her head.

She grabbed on her arm and wasn't letting go.

"Um, Sakura-chan, its no one, pff, what do you mean love? Till I become Hokage I c-.."

Naruto didn't know why she was so loudly and forcefully denying it. Deep inside she knew the truth. And it had to be buried it till it managed to reinforce again, with full strength.

"I can see through that lie Na-.."

"Naruto-neesan!"

Both girls turned to the voice. Naruto sighed in relief.

_Thanks Konohamaru! You saved me!_

Sakura wasn't as pleased with the interruption.

The boy ran to them, his long blue scarf flying behind him. Two other kids were at his tow.

The kids reached them, bending down and breathing hard. Naruto raised a blonde eyebrow at the rush.

Konohamaru looked up and wiping his nose with his finger, gave her a toothy grin.

"Nee-san!"

A boy with oversized, round glasses raised a hand.

"I am Udon, I like numbers."

He had a large boogie down his left nostril. Beside her Sakura blenched.

A girl with bright orange hair stepped foreword, beaming.

"I am Moegi, the sexiest pre-teen kunoichi in training!"

She had a weird outfit on. Naruto's eyes roamed over three multicolor shirts to her rounded skirt and socks.

True she herself wasn't one to talk of fashion sense, but this was too much even for her.

Konohamaru was smiling.

"Huh? Where did the helmet go?..Why are you all wearing goggles?", she inquired, staring at the three identical lime green projectiles on their foreheads. They looked suspiciously like her old pair back at home..

"We are copying you boss! We are the Konohamaru Corps!"

_Konohamaru Corps?_

Naruto smirked, ruffling the brunette's spiky hair.

"Good job, Konohamaru! You already have your team, ttebayo! So, what are you doing HERE?", she stated bluntly, staring at them with a bored look.

"You promised to play ninja with us! Remember?"

The boy was giving her the best puppy eyes he could.

Naruto sweatdropped, not recalling any promise like that in the previous 4 weeks.

"A ninja playing ninja?", laughed Sakura, speaking for the first time after the kids arrived.

Naruto glared at her.

"Who is she boss? She looks ugly."

Sakura's aura turned dark demonic pink in seconds. The young Sarutobi didn't notice, he just kept chirpling to the blonde how 'big and ugly' that forehead was.

"-..and also.."

"Pssst…Konohamaru…", she uttered in a dead whisper, eyeing her teammate, who was leaking out killing intent in waves, "RUN!"

And so the boy did, Naruto right after him, followed closely by Sakura, who had a sharkish smile on that suggested nothing but years of pain.

Udon and Moegi had had a few minutes head start while their ignorant friend was busy pointing out each of Sakura's faults.

"Ooomph!" pouted the boy, rubbing his sore nose. In his fear he didn't look where he was running and had bumped into someone on the way. The impact had sent him on the ground.

"Konohamaru-chan!"

"Konohamaru-kun!", screamed the two pre-teens as they ran to their friend. Beofre they reached him, however, a black clad hand grabbed him by the collar an dlifted him up.

"Watch where you go, brat!"

Naruto growled.

"Let him go you make-up freak!"

The term 'make-up' was quite accurate. The boy was dressed in what looked up a cat costume, all in black, and his face was painted with white and red lines. Naruto knew it was probably war paint, used to scare off the opponents, but she couldn't resist the little cheek.

The small brown eyes found hers. He glared. The girl next to her put a hand on his wrist.

"Let him go Kankurou."

She was very beautiful, with sandy blonde hair, seemingly unruly, tied in 4 short ponytails, bangs framing her oval face and making her amber eyes stand out.

She was dressed in a traditional kimono like dress and had fishnet on her.

On her back there was something strapped, long and wide.

Naruto's attention snapped back to the 'Kankurou' character. He was shaking Konohamaru.

No one did that to her ototou!

She leaked killing intent in a blast, making the boy and the girl freeze in fear. What Naruto didn't know was that she channeling some of the kyuubis killing intent, and in a way, those two were familiar with it.

Kankuro landed with a small 'thump' on the ground and ran to hide behind his boss, Udon and Moegi along with him.

Naruto cut it off, smirking. She felt a familiar chakra signature in the nearby tree and nearly snorted.

"Come out, teme."

Said boy jumped and landed beside Sakura.

"Hn, dobe."

The black clad boy was still trembling.

"Kankurou, you are an embarrassment to the village", came a cold low baritone. Everyone's heads turned to look at the tree Sasuke had just jumped from. A red haired boy was hanging upside down, sand swirling around him.

With a whirl of sand (_It's got to be a variation of that shuinshin no jutsu everyone uses, I have got to learn it, ttebayo!)_ he landed beside the sandy haired girl and glares at them.

They both shivered violently.

"G..Gaara…"

Said redhead just ignored them in favor of watching team 7. Naruto's eyes widened when the pupil less teal eyes locked with her cerulean ones.

They were so cold..like frozen endless pools.

And there was absolutely no feeling in them, except cold indifference and..bloodlust?

His nonexistent eyebrows furred. Naruto gulped. The boy was giving off a weird feeling, there was something eerie familiar about him, and scary at the same time.

His loose clothes hang from his elbows and torso, a white cloth wrapping it up. The most eye-catching thing, beside his murderous expression,was the peanut shaped enormous guild strapped to his back. It had some markings and cracks on it.

Naruto narrowed her eyes. Jut who _was _this Gaara..

"Who are you? From your hitai-ate is is evident you are from Sunagakure no Sato.", demanded Sakura, as though reading her blonde teammate's mind. Inwardly, Naruto thanked her.

The older dirty blonde laughed.

"You don't know?", she tapped their passes.

"The Chuunin exam, you are here to participate", stated Sasuke. The girl locked her eyes at the raven. Naruto could see a small blush appearing on her cheeks.

_Typical. Teme always gets the good looking girls, ttebayo. Hehehe, but I am willing to bet my future katana they wont end up tgether!_

She nodded.

"Don't mess with Konohamaru or other Konoha shinobi outside of the exam then", exclaimed Naruto, her eyes blazing, "or do you want an international conflict? You did threaten and try to beat the Hokages grandson, after all."

All eyes locked at her. Who knew the small blonde girl could be so manipulative with words? The Suna girl glared at the cat boy, who cowered.

"Excuse my brother's actions".

This came from the 'Gaara' boy.

After a staring contest between the two jinchuuriki, Naruto finally nodded.

"What are your names?", asked the redhead, inkling his head towards the Sasuke and Naruto. They shared a silent look and complied.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

"Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage, ttebayo!"

This brought some eye rolls from the Konoha shinobi and raised eyebrows from the Suna team.

"Wait, tell us your names as well.", pressed the blonde, seeing as the other three were about to leave.

"Sabaku no Kankurou"

"Sabaku no Temari"

"Sabaku no Gaara"

"Heh, see you in the exam then!", exclaimed Naruto, smiling.

She got a smirk in return, courtesy of Temari. Kankuro just grimaced, remembering the killing intent, and Gaara..Garra just started at her emotionlessly, his blood red spikes flying with the wind.

"The exam is going to be really interesting, eh Sasuke-teme, Sakura-chan!"

The two just grinned.

_Just you wait, Neji, I will show just how strong I am! I am going to beat Sasuke-teme, Garra, even if he scares me and you. _

_Most of all I... I don't want to lose to you._

_Never!_

_Dattebayo!_

She pulled on her lower lip, eyes sparkling. Sasuke shook his head, making the stupid thoughts leave his mind.

Sakura squealed again, making the other two jump in surprise.

"I knew it! You are thinking of the one you love, right!", she demanded.

Sasuke stared from one to other. What was Sakura _talking _about..

"Uh..i have to water the cows! Ja ne!"

Seconds later she was gone.

"She was supposed to water pigs..not cows…"muttered Sasuke, rubbing a throbbing temple.

Sakura screeched, "UZUMAKI NARUT, SHANNARO, I WILL GET THE TRUTH OUT OF YOU JUST YOU WAIT'

Sasuke fled while he could.

But the incident had given him something to think about, other then fighting strong opponents in tomorrow's exam or killing Itachi.

He rubbed his abused ears, deep in thought.

_Naruto.._

_What are you to me? _

* * *

><p><strong>finally the exam arc is coming up. anyways, guys, can anyone tell me which episodes were the prelim exams? i really dont remember much of it, except the main fights so...<strong>

**right. and i also wanted to go i a small monologue.**

**you ca ignore it if you want, these are just my thought that i would like to share.**

**the fake madara can easily be obito. he could have unlocked that kamui thing right before the rock buried him cmpletely. **

**and remember that kabuto ressurected someone? and the fke madara was scared? i think that might be rin. **

**the theory thats its madaras brother doesnt fit as much as this one does. right. anyways lol.**

**hope you guys enjoyed the chap.**

**see ya next time.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Just _who _was the dobe to him?

He stuck his hands in his pockets, gazing at the pavement, feet moving almost robotically as he racked his brain for an answer.

She was his..what? Wasn't Uzumaki Naruto just a dropout? The dead-last of the class, not worthy of his attention? Then why…why was it that he only noticed her? He had a freaking fanclub after him! But he never cared for them. They were all useless to him.

It wasn't like he was going to take such weaklings to revive his clan to its former glory. No. Uchiha wives were always strong. Both physically and mentally. And all of them were beautiful. He hadn't met any decent girl in Konoha…

But that was before the dobe caught his eye. Just _why_ did she have to untie her hair that day? Why did that simple act make him notice her in a whole new way?

He wasn't seeing the dobe, the loser who couldn't make a clone and was the class clown. No, he was seeing a girl, who was cute, had a fiery personality and had the guts to stand up to him.

After that he had began to notice minor things. Like the way she moved when she was calm, the way she would play with her lower lip, making the wheels in his mind go overdrive. Like when she smiled the small, genuine smile which crawled its way up to his heart. Like how her eyes would shine with determination.

He knew she was by far the best candidate to be the mother of his future children.

But she was the idiot! Before she had shown this…_cute…_side of her, they hated each other's guts. Naruto wanted to beat him in everything and jealousy was literally flowing from her. She had even named him her rival. As if a girl could be his rival.

But she was the only one to understand him. He still remembered that day, after the massacre; it was his first time going back from the Academy alone. It was the first time he finally understood with a bang what Itachi did to him. He had nowhere to go, even if the village adored him. The empty, bloodstained Uchiha compound? As if he would set a foot there.

He no longer had anyone.

That was the first time he registered the blonde. And really observed him, unlike the times in the academy, the stupid fights she always lost.

She was alone, sitting on a swing and eyeing the departing families with a look of desperate longing.

From that day on, he knew he had someone who could at least relate to him in a way.

He knew that he had subconsciously let the blond enter his heart from then on. And even later, when they locked eyes, him sitting on the deck and her just passing, the smiles they shared, they carried something hidden, something both had wanted and neither had the courage or pride to actually voice it and take the first step.

It was companionship. The longing for friendship and understanding. The rest of the world would turn white and they would smile at each other, no secrets between them. Noting uttered, just those smiles that would speak for them, their fingers entwined.

But it didn't happen. They just walked away, each having chosen their own path.

So what was she to him now?

He looked up. His feet had carried him to the Uchiha compound. He was staying in the nearest house, not too keen to go deeper.

The dope.

He still remembered how he had jumped in to save her from the needles, taking the hit himself. Why did he do it? Did the blonde mean so much to him?

Yes. He had to admit it. But what was the reason? That they were alike? That he liked her? _Did_ he like her anyway?

He found her features cute. She was a nice girl, with a weird, tomboyish personality. But it suited her.

He knew one thing; he would never force her into marriage. The thought of him making her his wife in the future had gradually died down as he got used to her presence, her boisterous laugh, her snappy comments, her usual 'dattebayo'. He had even forgotten about it, unless she made one of her 'cute' poses.

He knew one thing for sure. She was a very dear person.

Itachi's voice echoed in his head.

_"Come after me when you have gained the same eyes as me. For that, you have to kill your best friend.."_

Best friend.

Naruto..

He wouldn't be able to kill her. Never her. He would do anything to protect her, even if she hated him in return.

He almost skipped a step and faceplanted on the ground.

His eyes had widened, mouth open. No sound came off. Only one memory kept flashing in front of his eyes, like a mantra..

_"I will do anything to protect you, even if you hate me.."_

_"Foolish little brother.."_

His hand balled into a fist. _Itachi..._

Suddenly, he heard rustling. In a flash, kunai was already in his hand, eyes narrowed.

A crow croaked nearby, and as if that was a signal, he was surrounded.

* * *

><p>"Eh? Iruka-sensei? What are you doing here? Where did that masked ninja go.."<p>

The chuunin rubbed his bruised head and chuckled nervously, eyeing the blonde in front of him. Konohamaru, Udon and Moegi were behind her, the girl shaking a bit.

"Well…I had a slight disagreement with the Hokage. All three rookie gennin teams were nominated so I thought you guys needed more time, chunnin exams are dangerous, I thought you weren't ready.."

A tick appeared on Naruto's forehead. Iruka gulped.

"So we arranged a pre-test. This was to see if you guys were capable enough. I am proud of you, Naruto, you exceeded all my expectations. I shouldn't have doubted you."

She smiled brightly, pumping her fist in the air.,"You bet! Team Kakashi is gona kick some asses in the exam, just you wait and see, sensei!"

"Naruto-neechan is awesome!", whispered Konohamaru in awe. His two friends agreed wholeheartedly, staring at their idol with stars in their eyes.

"You three, come with me, I'll escort you home, Naruto, you had better get some sleep.", ordered Iruka. The blonde nodded and with a wave, left the clearing.

She was so caught up in her thoughts on the exam that she didn't notice a figure appear in front of her.

Said figure cocked a curious eyebrow at the unusual display of carelessness.

"Naruto.."

"Neji!", she yelped, jumping back. "You scared me.."

"You are a ninja…you should be ready for such things"

She promptly ignored him.

"Hai, hai. So what are you doing here?"

He threw a critical eye on her.

"Your jumpsuit is nearly in tears. Isn't your new clothing ready yet?"

"Eh", Naruto looked down. Indeed, it wasn't in the best shape., "Well, it will be ready in 2 weeks. So I guess I'll have to wear this to the exam.", she grinned.

He returned it, thought reluctantly.

"The exam starts tomorrow.", he commented

""Yup! And I wont go easy on you! I am so gona kick your pretty ass!"

He smirked and stepped closer.

"So you think my 'ass' is pretty? Never knew you were a pervert, Uzumaki"

She blushed crimson, rage boiling in her.

He easily sidestepped her punch.

"You guys are still a bit inexperienced. I have heard a bit about those exams."

Naruto's eyes snapped to attention, all anger forgotten.

"Don't take off the bracelet. I know you don't like the fact that in a way, I am supervising you, but it just makes it easier for me, knowing if you are ok or not." _I would forget the exam, the whole becoming a chuunin and rush to your aid if I feel something off about your chakra._

Naruto grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

"Don't worry, I will be fine. Don't forget, I am not planning to die before I become Hokage, ttebayo!"

The boy just patted her on the head and with one last serious look, vanished.

Naruto, ignoring the now occasional thumping of her heart, ran home.

She would need to think of what to take with her.

Making Neji get out of her head was pointless. She gave up on that. He viewed her only as a friend. But his worry for her and those comments he usually said, those witty smirks…its was a bit hard to cope.

_Unrequited love. Hmph, Sakura-chan would think its romantic and that it will end like a fairytale. But my life is an horror, not a fairytale. Sure, he accepted me as a friend and doesn't care for the kyuubi..but I am sure he will never see me as a girl. Plus he is from a prestigious clan, he will probably get married to a girl from the Hyuuga.._

_And I will always keep him in my heart._

She sighed tiredly, taking off her sandals and stepping on the cold floor of her apartment.

_First things first ,I need to concentrate on the exam. Becoming a chuunin will be a step closer to being Hokage, ttebayo! Now..where did I throw those scrolls…_

Her Neji problem would have to wait for the time being. She didn't need anymore thing happening to make those feelings rise from the lock she put them in.

If only she knew..

* * *

><p>"You are late, Naruto-baka!", screamed Sakura, her fist raised threateningly. Sasuke just 'hn'-ed and stretched. They were beside the Academy and Naruto was holding her stomach, panting, trying to catch her breath.<p>

"I…er got lost on the road of life?", she suggested quietly, watching both her teammates sweatdrop.

"Add a perverted book of that Jiraya and you will make a clone of Kakashi, " muttered the boy darkly as the trio entered the building. Sakura giggled while Naruto just smiled mysteriously.

"Don't worry, teme, I will do just that to annoy you more."

"Dobe.."

"Teme.."

"Idiot."

"Bastard"

"Loser"

"Duck-butt hair"

"Orange abomination"

"Stuck up prick"

"Useless dropout"

"CUT IT OUT SHANNARO!"

Both were nursing bumps on their heads. The one smirking now was their pink teammate.

However, they didn't stop the bickering all the way up to the second floor, much to Sakura's irritation.

They paused to watch the scene in front of their eyes. There was a quite large group of kids, probably gennin, as they had different insignias on their hitai-ates, yelling and glaring at the two others who were guarding a classroom.

Naruto looked above.

**Room 301**

_Wait a second..did I lose count? Weren't we only on the second floor?_

She looked sideways at Sakura and Sasuke.

"Genjutsu,", he muttered, the girl nodding.

"But why? Is this some kind of a test again?", Sakura suggested.

Naruto nodded slowly." Most probably, plus those two…don't they remind you of Izumo and Kotetsu a bit?"

Sasuke focused his eyes on them. A flash of red later, he confirmed it with a small nod.

"Let me through, please, we worked so hard to get in here…", pleaded a boy. Naruto did a double take. Her eyebrows rose. Green, skin tight jumpsuit, the bowl cut and the ever-present eyebrows.

"Gejimayo…what's he doing?"

Her eyes looked through the crowd. Sure enough, there was Tenten, helping Lee up. There was a bruise on his face.

_Huh?_

And there was Neji, staring right at her with a cold, apathetic look.

"Deception.", she concluded in a whisper and made to tell her teammates not to bust the genjutsu, but was too late. Sasuke was already making his way through the crowd, eyes blazing.

Sakura and Naruto, sharing a look, ran after him.

"This isn't enough to fool us, drop the genjutstu", the raven haired boy demanded, hands in his pockets.

This was his 'I am superior to you' stance which made Naruto roll her eyes. Before he could do anything more hasty, she ran to stand in front of him and pushed him back.

"So you figured it out." Smirked one of the guards., "Lets see how you take this!"

He leaned back and raised his foot to deliver a kick. Sasuke, pushing Naruto away brought his own foot foreword. Before the attacks could clash, a green whirlwind appeared in the middle and grabbed both feet with bandaged hands.

"No need to fight, the youth shines brightly in both of you!"

Naruto sweatdropped. Tenten, who was standing beside them facepalmed.

"Way to break the cover, Lee..", she muttered.

Neji just sighed and moved foreword to untangle his teammate before he made it any worse.

Izumo and Kotetsu smirked.

_Gai's and Kakashi's brats. They are good._

Sasuke stared at Lee, who shined him his biggest toothy grin. The gennin around them backed away. Sakura just gaped. He had stopped their attacks with is _hands!_

How was that even possible?

She blanched when he stared at her, is eyebrows seemingly growing and wriggling.

"What a beautiful flower! What is your name, oh captor of my heart! I shall fight the Uchiha for you! My flames of youth shall not waver!"

"Oh hell no, Shannaro! Get away from me!", Sakura screamed and hid behind Sasuke, who just shrugged, not really caring.

Naruto sweatdropped and pointed a finger at the Uchiha.

"Don't you dare fight now, you will get the chance at the exams, ttebayo!"

She turned around to say the same thing to Lee.

Well, that was the plan.

Neji was already there, glaring at his teammate and telling him the exact same thing Naruto told Sasuke, only with 'You will get to fight for your 'flower's love later' added.

Then he had turned around.

Now, Naruto Uzumaki wasn't the only prankster in Konoha, she was just one of the main troublemakers who did huge pranks. But there were others who liked a laugh too. Such as Izumo and Kotetsu.

It was only understandable. After all, they had done guard duty for so long, and finally something different was happening. Plus they wanted to see the reaction of the Hyuuga. After all the headache he had given him a few weeks ago the boy deserved it, plus he needed to loosen up.

So they had a small ingenious plan. Others would say its was ridiculous and they needed to pay more attention to their careers as shinobi, but those two could care less at that particular moment.

A slight push from both made the Hyuuga stumble foreword, loosing his balance just as Naruto turned.

CRASH!

Their respective teammates gaped like fishes out of the water, choking for air. At least all but Lee, who started sprouting things about flames of youth again. The two chuunin were hugging each other, tears of laughter in their eyes. The rest of the gennin just stared, some curious, some snickering and some disgusted.

Naruto's eyes were closed. Something heavy was lying on her, unmoving. And something soft was on her lips. She tasted coffee and vanilla.

It took a few minutes for her brain to register the reality. And when it did, her eyes snapped open and she flew up, hitting the other person.._Neji.._on the head in the process.

Both where sitting on the floor, rubbing their foreheads and not looking at each other. Both didn't know what would happen if they locked eyes now. Their bright red faces were an exhibition for everyone to see. Neji knew he would probably ignore all the honorable upbringing and snog her senseless then and there. The weird disease was slowly making him do insane things. He needed to stay away from the blonde, so as things like...this wouldn't happen again. But deep inside his rapidly beating heart and the sudden desire in him, told him one thing. He liked it, and he wanted more. The sweet taste of strawberries and ramen (no matter how much he disliked it) were like a drug to him. He stilled, trying to go into a meditating mode, to calm down.

Why did it happen now, of all the times..

And she was going to be angry for stealing her kiss.

He tried not to smirk as the thought 'i want to steal it again' crossed his mind. He really needed help. And soon. He hoped with all his heart Hiashi would have an explanation and a vaccine. From the corner of his eye, he looked at her. She was frozen to her spot, face beet red and hand lingering near her lower lip. Her eyes were shadowed by her hair, but he could feel waves of disbelief roll from her.

_Why is she so doubtful? Did i scare her again? Like the night of Mizuki's betrayal?_

He tried not to think of it. The atmosphere around them was very heavy. He heard snickering. Those two damn chuunin were going to get it. They were going to regret their decision to test this bunch of gennin or even cming here to day.

"You..have got to be kidding me..", Tenten finally broke the silence, a small grin appearing on her face.

Sasuke was boiling in anger. _How dare he?_

Swiftly he grabbed the blonde's shoulder and not to gently started pulling her away, glaring at the still sitting Hyuuga with malice.

He would get some precious parts of him chopped off and fed to Kakashi's nin dogs, or burned to a crisp by a well placed katon jutsu.

No one dares to steal her kiss! No one dares to touch her unless they have his permission first! And they would have to pass a test!

On the way he grabbed Sakura as well, and pulled his two female teammates up the stairs, were the real room 301 was.

Back at the second floor, Neji finally snapped out of his daze.

Tenten and Lee could only watch in horror as two very unfortunate chunnin had their asses juukened. Neji was pissed, and that wasn't a good sign.

* * *

><p><strong>cliffhanger? i really didnt remember the room number, so just ignore it if i got it wrong. hope you guys enjoyed.<strong>

**review please. :)**

**erm, i tried to make it sound like naruto is a little sister to sasuke. he is overprotective. did i manage? or was it lame?**

**edited chapter. no more spelling mistakes naooo**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Hatake Kakashi was certain that his team would make it. The way they acted at the Wave mission was a dead giveaway. Plus with the additional training he put them all through, and the teamwork drills. He was positive his team would make it past the pseudo test set to get rid of the weakest and lower the number of participants. Kurenai and Asuma had already gone, their teams being already in the room. Gai, worried for his, went to check up on them. He was probably going to bring them from one of the backdoors.

So he was left alone, reading his book while he waited for his kawaii gennin to appear. 15 minutes later, he heard rather loud stomping. His eye left the rather interesting chapter to stare at the sight in front of him.

Sasuke, with a very pissed of expression (like someone dared to kill Itachi before he even got there) was dragging a very red Naruto, who was shell shocked, and Sakura, who was dazed.

Slowly, he lowered his book and stood up. He was afraid of the answer if he asked the question, so instead, he settled to their usual scenario. Even if the roles where revised.

"You are late."

"A green bushy caterpillar crossed out path, wanting to fight for his flower..", started Sakura, slowly coming out of her daze.

"And then greenie started a fight with me, and I decided to protect two flowers. But one got 'hit' in the end.", sputtered Sasuke, glaring at the ground.

"And well, then the other flower got lost on the road of lo..er.. life?" Naruto carefully hid her blush and smiled her trademark grin.

Kakashi just stared at them, eyebrow raised till the maximum. There was slight fear of it disappearing into his hair permanently.

"Your adventures seem to be more fun then mine"

All three laughed.

"We learn from the best, dattebayo!" yelled Naruto. Sakura smacked her upside down lightly. Sasuke 'hn'-ed as usual.

_Well, at least they are back to normal. Though Naruto is still blushing like there is no tomorrow and Sasuke still has the murderous look. _

"Its good all three of you came."

"Huh?"

"Well, this is a team test, meaning if one of you backed down, I wouldn't have let the other two through."

Sakura squirmed a bit, but nodded, determined not to be a burden to Naruto and Sasuke. The exam was starting, they needed to forget about the incident and leave it till later.

All three understood this, and even Naruto, whose frantic heart still couldn't stop, focused.

"Are you ready? Good luck then. Make me proud."

"Hai, Kakashi-sensei", they chorused and with one last, confident look at one other, entered.

The copy ninja eye-smiled after them.

He was positive they would make it.

But _what _was that about?

Green bushy caterpillar? That sounds like Gai, maybe he should ask the jounin about it in the lounge while they waited?

With that thought in mind, he strolled down, hand flipping back to his precious book.

_Things are going to be more interesting._

* * *

><p>"Erm…this is the correct room, right guys?", whispered Naruto to the other two. Both nodded and stared ahead. The classroom was huge. They never used it. And now, they understood why.<p>

There were so many different genin, almost more then a 100, chattering, glaring, yelling, laughing, some observing.

Colors varying from black to green to white clashed together.

With a bang Naruto realized she was wearing the brightest color that made her stick out like a sore thumb.

Even Sakura's hair and red dress didn't stand out as much as her neon orange jumpsuit.

Oh well, if that was so, she had better make the best of it.

Taking in a deep breath, she screamed on top of her lungs.

"I AM UZUMAKI NARUTO,DATTEBAYO! AND YOU ARE ALL GOING TO GET YOUR ASSES KICKED!"

Every single head turned to her, all of them leaking killing intent. Naruto just laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her head. Sakura was seething. Sasuke however, looked around. His idiotic teammate, with that declaration had dissolved the tension hanging low in the room. He himself could breathe properly now. Casting a look over at his teammates, one of whom was choking the other, he sighed, shaking his head.

_She didn't realize it, but she had so much charisma. One day, she really might become Hokage._

"You guys are here too? This is so troublesome.."

"Sasuke-kun! Did you miss me!",

A second later Ino launched on Sasuke's right arm, clutching it to her chest and fluttering her eyelashes at the twitching boy. Sakura, rage erupting from, her started to pull her off her 'precious Sasuke-kun'.

Naruto ignored the 'help me' desperate look from the Uchiha and turned to Shikamaru and Chouji, smiling brightly at her two friends.

"Yo guys!"

"Want a chip, Naruto?", offered the chubby boy. The girl brightened and took a one. It was yummy. She and Chouji knew the beauty of food (they conveniently forgot it was junk food, not really healthy) All except vegetables of course. They were evil. She clapped the back of the Akimichi heir and turned to stare at his teammate.

"This exam is very troublesome…I'd rather.."

"Be off watching clouds?", finished the blonde for him, smirking. He just rolled his eyes. Typical Naruto.

"So you guys are here too? This is going to be fun, right Akamaru!", boomed a voice. All heads turned to see Team 8 coming their way.

Kiba, who had just spoken, was grinning, his fangs poking out. He clearly was excited, and both Naruto and Sasuke felt like that as well. Shino was positioning his glasses on his nose. Hinata stepped foreword and greeted them, her fingers poking together.

"Heh, Sasuke, our team trained out butt off, we aren't going to lose to you!"

Sasuke just smirked and shared a look with his teammates. Shikamaru, noticing this, muttered to Kiba," What makes you think the only danger in Team 7 is Sasuke?"

"Huh?"

"You guys are so noisy. You just made everyone here your enemy."

They quieted down and stared at the newcomer. He had silver hair, with a light purple tint to it. His eyes were grey and cold. His hand was on the bridge of his glasses, giving him a smart look. This disgusted many. Shino did it many times, but it never got such a reaction from anyone. Naruto narrowed her eyes. Something was off with the older boy.

"I don't trust him, whoever he is..", growled out the blonde in a whisper. Sasuke agreed with her, his own eyes on the silver haired man. Sakura just watched, unsure why her teammates were acting like that. He was a Konoha shinobi. He was wearing a leaf hiate after all.

Unknown to them, a few meters away, two pearly white eyes were also focused on the boy, distrustful and furious.

"I am Yakushi Kabuto, this is my 7th time taking the exam, " he laughed weakly. It sent shivers down Naruto's spine.

"So you must suck.", stated Shikamaru, eyes boring into the grey ones of Kabuto.

"Ah well..but I have informatio on the exam no one here has."

This caught the attention of everyone. Several eyes narrowed further.

The bespectacled boy pulled out a deck of cards and presented them.

"They are just cards," deadpanned Ino.

The boy just took out one and placed it on the ground. Channeling chakra to his finger, he fed the card, then flipped it over. The once blank side was filled with graphics, numbers and a small drawing of what looked like the Shinobi Nations.

"See here…it say that there are only 6 hidden villages participating, and only 2 of them belong to the great 5, Suna and Konoha. The rest are minor, Amegakure, Kusagakure, Takigakure and a new one, Otogakure. In total, there are 153 participants. 87 of which are gennin of Konoha. You guys are just rookies compared to them."

Everyone stayed silent.

"Kabuto, was it? Do you have information on certain people?", asked Sasuke.

The older boy smirked and nodded.

"Who do you need?"

"Sabaku no Gaara and Hyuuga Neji"

Naruto stilled at the name.

"You know their names? It is much easier then."

With a wave of his chakra, two cards flew out of the deck. Kabuto looked them over.

"Sabaku no Gaara. He is on the same team as his siblings, Temari and Kankurou. They are the children of the Yondaime Kazekage. Team leader is Baki. Nothing is known of Gaara's abilities, and it shows here he had passed 7 B-ranks and 5 A-rank missions."

Naruto nearly whistled. Their team was defiantly strong. She looked over to where Gaara and his siblings were sitting. Her eyes locked with his for a second. The redhead had a haunty look again. His emotionless eyes were eating her slowly. She looked away.

"And Hyuuga Neji. He is on Team Gai, or Team 9. Teammates with Higarashi Tenten and Rock Lee. Team leader is Maito Gai. He is a prodigy when it comes to the Byakugan, and is excessive in taijutsu. The team has 20 D-ranks and 16 C-ranks"

Naruto's eyes narrowed. This information was too accurate, almost like the Bingo Book. Her eyes locked with Neji's for a second. Both were serious. The Hyuuga's eyes were narrowed to slits. Naruto saw Neji slowly shake his head slightly. No one noticed but her. He was silently telling her not to trust him and to stay away. She nodded, and rubbed the bracelet through the thick orange sleeve. Something was very fishy with this Kabuto character, and if Neji was telling her not to butt in (as she usually does), then it was something serious.

Naruto finally looked away and focused on her surroundings. Sasuke was looking over the crowd, seemingly calculating and analyzing the competition. Sakura was standing close to them, silent. In fact, all the rookie Konoha gennin were huddled with their teams. The clock above them was ticking.

It was about the time for the exam to start.

Naruto felt her nerves tingle a bit. She could do this. She would do this, dattebayo!

"All right you maggots! Grab a number and get to your seats! If you aren't done in 5 minutes, you are going to be dumped out of the classroom along with your teammates!"

Naruto's eyes glued to the mountain like figure that had just barked out the orders. The man had a square face and was wearing a strange uniform, with combat boots and blue/grayish button suit. Not wanting to be dumped out, as the scary man had pointed out, she scrambled to her seat, her number in her hand.

17

_Heh, my favourite number, ttebayo! _

It was then, when she looked around, did she realize what the first exam was.

_A written exam! I always failed those at the academy..wait, relax, you studied in your last year, Neji got you books and answered your questions, you can do this.._

Reassuring herself, she took a deep breath and looked around again. Hinata was sitting right beside her. Sasuke was at the very end of the first row. Sakura was in the middle of the middle one. Damn..this was done of purpose, she was sure of it. Neji was sitting a few seats ahead of her. Her heart skipped a beat but she glared at her chest. This was not the time to start dwelling on such things. Focus.

The scary man stood in front of them and glared. His whole face was marred with ugly scars.

"I am the proctor for the first exam, my name is Morino Ibiki"

The chuunins standing behind him got up and distributed the tests.

_Funny, I didn't notice them coming with the scary jiji…heh, Izumo and Kotetsu are here too..why are they limping?_

Naruto stared at the back of the test as it was placed on her table.

"Now listen here, I am going to say the rules only once."

_Rules? But this is just a written test, what rules?_

"There are 10 questions. If you don't answer a question, you get 0 points. For every cheat, you will lose two points. If you are caught cheating 5 times, and mind you, we will be watching you like hawks, you and your teammates will be disqualified. This is a team test, so in the end, if one of you gets 0, the team doesn't pass."

Naruto felt 2 killing intents aimed at her back and sweatdropped.

"After an hour, you will put the pens down. I will ask the 10th and final question then, now get started!" He leaked out some killing intent, freezing every participant and dismissing the idea of 'cheating' completely from their heads.

Naruto gulped the lump that seemed to be blocking her breathing pathways. Hand shaking a bit, she turned the paper over and looked at the first question.

She froze. What the hell was wrong with those questions? They were impossible to answer! No one could do that! Well, except for Sakura and maybe Shikamaru…

This was insane!

She heard scribbling. Someone was already writing down the answers. Maybe she could cheat? She noticed Hinata silently offering her too look at her paper. But how did the Hyuuga girl know herself? It was then that she noticed veins popping at the side of her head.

_She is using Byakugan to copy._

_But Hinata never copied! Maybe there was something more to the test? The rules themselves were weird. Why would they warn them against cheating? And 2 points were taken out of each cheat..wait a second.._

She looked over at the examinators. They each had a small notepad in hand and were watching the room with narrowed eyes. They were chuunin and were bound to notice if someone cheated the usual way.

But all here were ninja already, and Hinata used her Byakugan.

Naruto heard even more scribbling. It wasn't there minutes ago. So they all are cheating! She needed to think of a way to stealthily cheat herself without being noticed. She didn't have eyes that could see through walls, or dogs that would tell her things (she pictured Kiba in her mind and glared). _Hm._

_What justu do I have? Only the Kage Bunshin. They pass information, but I can't make them now, they make a loud poof when they appear, plus everyone will see. Maybe make a clone and henge it into an insect? What about the smoke then?_

_What else do I have? My wind element? It's not even half complete yet. _

_Fuuinjutsu? But I don't know any seal that..that could.._

Her thought trailed away as a small smile slowly crawled up her face. Quickly looking at the clock (11:30, which meant she only had 30 minutes maximum), she quickly started drawing the copying seal that had helped her gain information on the Hiraishin so many months ago.

She knew that she needed ink, but a pen was ok as well, as long as the strokes and characters were drawn correctly. She could even add blood for the seal to be more stable and do its function.

10 minutes later, she stared at her masterpiece. Next step, the bracelet. Neji really didn't know how much it will help her, if she could tweak the seal on it a bit of course.

Placing her hand in front of her, she quickly started drawing lines around the kanji for 'kaze'.

_A small curve around it, to make it dimension passable..I'm so glad I paid attention to this part when the Yondaime described it. Right, I don't need much of power and what I am going to pass is just a piece of paper..so the kanji for 'hane' and 'hebi'..hm, I should entwine them to make them work together, and maybe use the hebi hand seal as well..right what else..the bracelet is connected to Neji with my chakra, so I should feed the copying seal with it, and I need a way to focus it on his right hand palm too…ok.._

She bit her lip and concentrated one eye on the clock. She had 10 minutes left.

_It would be better to concentrate on what his hand was writing on, namely the paper. They were twins, right? Mine and his test papers. So If I add the kanji for 'yoshi' and the elements for tsuin, and reinforce it with the tori handseal, that should do the trick. Yosh! Finally!_

She added the last element and beamed. Now, it was the hardest part. Putting her hand casually on her test, so that the front of the bracelet was facing down, she brought her other hand up and quickly made the handseals for hebi and tori. She felt her chakra flow smoothly to both seals. The seal on the paper glowed blue and connected to the bracelet.

So far, it was going good.

Naruto smiled and whispered.

"Kopi shi fuuin, setsuzoku!"

She watched in satisfaction and pride swelling inside her like a balloon as the lines slowly dissolved around the paper. Seconds later, they were back, the answers already printed on it in Neji's neat, elegant handwriting.

Her first creation in fuuinjutsu was a success!

She looked at the clock. 5 minutes to go. Staring confidently right at Ibiki, with the ever-present smirk, she leaned back, hands casually going under her head.

Said Morino was staring at her dumbfounded. None of the chuunin noticed it, but he did. All he saw was that she was drawing on her paper. Most likely seals. But how would the kyuubi jinshuuriki know of seals? That art was incredibly difficult and from what he knew, there was no seal to help her cheat. She couldn't walk up and attach it to anyone after all, and there was no record of the answers to have the seal attached to them in a library. He had no idea what she was doing and had settled to silently watching her. He saw her muttering under her breath, her brow furred, drawing something on a bracelet of hers now.

Maybe she was just playing around? After all, everyone always said she was an idiot, and from what he was seeing, she was either trying to create or modify a seal at whim, or was just plain bored and this was a prank.

Yes, the latter did seem more like it.

His jaw nearly dropped when he saw the paper glow blue for a second. She was wearing a triumphant grin. The same glow illuminated somewhere in the room. His eyes snapped up. It was the Hyuuga boy, but the glow lasted only seconds, then vanished.

His eyes locked on the blonde jinchuuriki. She was staring right at him, eyes twinkling and a full blown smirk adoring her face. She was leaning on her chair, uncaring. From what he could see, the paper was filled with answers now.

He surpassed a low chuckle. She really was surprising, that Uzumaki. And from her demeanor, it was obvious she had just created a seal of her own. This was how Minato Namikaze had looked when he had made the same accomplishment.

He smirked back and releasing killing intent once more, boomed.

"Pens down! It is time for the 10th and last question."

The gennin sat in silence, every face turned to him, waiting. The aura in the room didn't help.

"Before I ask it, however, I need to tell you something. You have a choice of not answering it."

Murmurs broke out.

"What do you mean?", asked Temari.

"What I mean, is if you answer the question wrong, you and your teammates will be disqualified, and would NEVER be allowed to take the exams ever again. You have a choice. To stay here and answer the question, or go and have another try at the exams 6 months later. So what is it? But remember, if one of you decides to go, all the team goes with him or her"

"Nande! What kind of a rule is that! There are people here taking the exam multiple times and it's the first time something like this happened!", bellowed Kiba, Akamaru barking in agreement. Naruto agreed as well, Dog-Breath was making a fair point.

"I am the proctor and I set the rules, if you don't like it, feel free to go and try other time when I'm not the examinator. You bunch of useless brats are just unlucky to have me as the examinator"

This was said is such a chilling, cold tone that everyone held their breaths. The aura in the room darkened again. Naruto shivered, thinking of Sasuke and Sakura..

If she answered wrong, she will stay a gennin forever, dragging them with her..

But..

She looked around. Many hands rose. Many teams left. With each one, the sadistic smile on the scarred proctor grew. He was enjoying it.

Hinata was shaking beside her.

_Tch, stupid proctor teme!_

Slowly, she raised her hand, making Sakura, whose hand was half raised, lower it in wonder. Sasuke glared at her. Neji, however, just smirked. He had known the girl for a very long time and knew what was coming. He just closed his eyes in content. Tenten and Lee gave him quizzical glances.

Ibiki was surprised. Uzumaki was giving up? Wasn't she famed in the whole village for screaming on top of her lungs about never giving up?

His confusion wavered when she slammed her hand hard on the desk and growled.

"I am not giving up, dattebayo! So what if I stay a gennin forever? Then I will be the first gennin to become a Hokage! You can't scare me into chickening out!"

With a snap, the tension vanished, the killing intent along with it. The gennin breathed in relief, all staring just as confidently and determined as the blonde.

He sighed. There goes the trick..damn Uzumaki…

But he had to admit, the girl had guts. Just one sentence from her made everyone else confident. That was something only born leaders had. She really would make a wonderful Hokage one day.

"All those who are here, pass."

He was met with owlish looks of disbelief and confusion.

"Huh?", voiced Naruto, sitting down.

"What about the 10th question?", echoed Temari.

"There was no 10th question, but if you really want it, consider the choice your question then. The whole exam part in reality was the choice. It was to see if you were willing to risk everything in order for your mission to succeed. Those who stayed here, succeeded. You all pass."

"Wait, what about the 9 questions then?", asked a perplexed Kiba.

"That was to test your information gathering skills. The questions, as you all have noticed were very advanced for a gennin, that was why we placed two chuunun with you. The objective was to cheat stealthily, without being caught. I congratulate you all on achieving it", he finished with a smile.

Naruto nearly jumped of her seat in excitement. She had passed, they had passed!

She whirled around and sent a dazzling smile to Neji, who froze, then gave a thumbs up to Sakura and Sasuke.

The window broke. All chattering died down. 4 kunai flew through it and attached themselves to the walls, right in front of a disgruntled Morino Ibiki.

A woman appeared with a puff of smoke.

"Yo brats! I am Mitarashi Anko, the proctor of the second exam, follow me! If you stay behind I will feed you to my snakes."

The she pulled the black cloth down and glared at the scarred man.

"There are a lot of teams left."

"We have a rather talented bunch this year."

"No matter, more then half will fail my exam."

This made everyone's eyes widen. More then half? There were like 80 or so people now!

With a wink, she disappeared. Everyone hurriedly went after her.

"Naruto…she outdid even you with the show..", muttered Sakura. Said girl nodded dumbly and the trio followed the running mass.

* * *

><p><strong>this was the first time i actually reread what i wrote before adding it here. thats why there are no typos lol. hope you guys liked it.<strong>

"Kopi shi fuuin, setsuzoku!" = "**Copy seal, connect!" lame i know, but dont sue me for it, google translate sucks anyways**

**review and tell me what you think. **


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

Naruto stared at the forms they had to sign. From what she could tell, ANDfrom what that snake ladyhad said, this exam would be very dangerous.

"It will be dangerous," muttered Sasuke, voicing her thoughts.. The three of them were standing in a corner, each staring at the papers in their hands.

"We might die.." added Sakura. Her voice was shaking.

"We aren't going to die." Stated Naruto confidently. "We didn't die during the Wave mission, and lets admit it, we were fresh gennin who barely knew anything. Not, we are trained a bit more, have experience . Sensei trained us. We aren't going to die, or lose to any of them!", her hand whipped around to point at the other groups of gennin. All of them seemed to be discussing the second exam and the rules.

The pinkette smiled. Sasuke just 'hn'-ed. All three signed their names in.

"Hey forehead!", came a shrill voice. There was a playful edge to it though.

It was Yamanaka Ino, waving at them. Sikamaru and Chouji weren't with her. Naruto looked around. Sure enough, as she predicted, the tall boy had found a spot and was currently lying on the grass, staring at the sky. Chouji was eating his chips beside him. It was evident by the way his hand shook slightly that he was worried. They all were. The Forest of Death looked scary. Even the name itself made them shiver. Only Gaara seemed almost_..bored?_

"Ino-pig!"

Sakura, as usual, was bickering with her friend/rival.

She looked over at Sasuke. He was surrounded by girls from other villages. Seems he had fangirls not only in Konoha. A snort escaped her. Luckily Sakura and Ino where busy, or Sasuke would really get strangled.

Suddenly a hand grabbed her shoulder and whirled her around. Prepared for an attack, Naruto's muscles tensed, ready to react and kick anytime.

There was no need. It was Neji.

"Oh..h-hey Neji."

She nearly hit herself on the head. Stuttering? Really? She was reduced to this state just because he kissed her?

"Naruto."

It was awkward! Way to awkward!

"I wanted to apologize for what happened earlier in the corridor. Even if it was a trick by those two chuunin, I had no right to act like that. I am sincerely sorry. I will never invade you privacy like that. It was disrespectful of me."

He wasn't looking at her.

The words hurt. She didn't want him to apologize for it! She had liked it! But..it seemed that he was disgusted. Well that was expected, she was a demon host, and there were so many other girls, much prettier then her and more womanly. _Any boy would be disgusted_, she thought bitterly. She couldn't look him in the eyes either, or raise her head. Her heart clenched horribly and she seemed to physically feel the blood oozing from it.

She wanted to cry. But she wouldn't. Never for that reason and never in front of him. Especially in front of him. She was strong. A kunoichi. The future Hokage.

"Yeah..", her voice trailed away in a whisper.

Well, at least now it would be easier, now that she knew positively he didn't like her or see her that way. She would act like always, and would hide the feelings deep inside. He will never know of them. It might ruin everything they have created. Above all he was her friend. And she wouldn't have let that friendship break, especially for something as stupid as her love.

Another painful stab.

She gripped her chest in pain.

Neji noticed and made a move to help her. She backed away. A few minutes later, she raised her head, her smile back in place.

"So, Neji, you used the Byakugan, didn't you?"

The sudden change of subject puzzled him, and her behavior as well. Was she in pain? That motion.. she really must be afraid of him. And the smile..it was melancholic..there was bitter pain in it. He didn't like this. Not one bit.

But she didn't say anything. He had known her for a long time, he knew how she acted in situations like these. She would just wait till she was ready to talk. In all the other cases that was what happened. But this time, he felt it was different. What was bothering her so much to cause indirect pain? And why was she keeping it away from him? They shared every small secret, everything. But this time…

He would wait and observe.

He wouldn't force her into an answer.

The '_yet' _lingered in his mind as he watched her passively.

"Ys, I used it. You also did something, didn't you? I felt your chakra around me for a second."

Her smirk returned, and the fire in her eyes as well. He was glad.

"Well..yup. I copied everything off you, you even helped me! I kind of used this!", she pointed at her bracelet, grinning.

He raised an eyebrow." The seal on it doesn't help you copy in any way, it just allows me to feel the disturbances in your chakra."

"Well, remember I told you about a seal I learned from the notebook? I even used to copy a jutsu from you know where.."

He nodded. She had told him of this long ago. The seal helped copy the instructions for the Hiraishin no Jutsu. But as far as she told him, the seal could only be used in direct contact.

Her smirking face made something click in his mind. His eyes widened.

"Did you modify it?", he asked, disbelievingly.

She just nodded, her blonde, low ponytail flying with her.

"You….are amazing, Naruto. Congratulations on creating your own, very first seal."

She laughed, beaming at the praise. When Neji said it, it had much more meaning to her. He was proud of her, and she was very glad for that. At least she channeled some feelings in him. This was enough for her. She wouldn't demand more, she couldn't. She was glad that she was rewarded with that kiss. She would cherish the memory of it. This was something no one could take away from her. She wouldn't forget it. Never.

"Don't forget to write it down", he muttered, watching her amusedly. He loved seeing her blush. The urge to hug her grew inside him with every minute. He needed to get out of there and fast before he did something unforgivable again.

"Yosh, I will put it in the notebook you gave me! I already have so many ideas there! When I am done, you are going to be really impressed, I promise you that, dattebayo!"

"I will wait then."

She didn't know that this statement was meant not only as a response to her declaration. It was almost a silent plea. She didn't see it.

They heard the proctor yell through a megaphone. It was time to hand in the papers and get the scrolls.

"Naruto,", he said in a low, serious voice, putting both hands on her shoulders." Be careful out there"

She nodded, expression mirroring his. "You too, don't you dare die one me." She repeated the words he himself had used a few weeks ago.

"Don't worry, I don't plan to die till I see you become Hokage."

With a last smirk, he was gone.

Naruto smiled softly and ran off to catch Sasuke and Sakura.

After shrugging and rubbing the back of her head at their questioning gazes, the three entered the tent and exchanged the papers for the scroll. It was a Heaven scroll.

Sasuke, quickly taking it, hid it in his pocket. The trio went to their assigned entrance. It was blocked by wires. The gloom coming off the forest was sickening.

The chuunin above them received the signal and with a handseal, opened the gates. Team 7 sprinted ahead.

Before they could go deeper, Naruto stopped them.

"Teme, give me the scroll for a moment, I have an idea"

Glaring at her, the boy complied. Naruto quickly took it and placed it on the ground. Taking of a smaller scroll from her holster, she unsealed it with a simple 'kai'. Several other scrolls rolled off. Sasuke and Sakura watched in annoyance and hidden interest.

Ignoring the looks, the blonde took out a medium sized scroll and unsealing ink and a brush, started drawing a seal on it. She had only seen it on the intermediate fuuninjutsu scrolls but never tried it, since it was nothing special.

Well, it seemed special enough for this occasion. She just hoped her memory wouldn't fail her.

As she drew the last stroke, she placed the Haven scroll over it and muttered a "Jufukufuin". With a pop, a duplicate of the scroll appeared, much to the shock of her teammates. Naruto smirked and threw the original to Sasuke, while pocketing the fake one herself. After that she resealed her items and clapped her hands together.

"So, what's the plan?"

"I say we just go straight to the tower and fight whoever comes our way.", replied Sasuke, a bit jealous and angry that the blonde could do such things.

Sakura was still gaping, but her brain recalled what the girl had said during the introduction. She clamed down enough to understand what Naruto was asking now.

"Wouldn't it be better to travel unseen and just lay down traps at the entrance of the tower?", she suggested.

"Many would think of that. How about we just follow a team and ambush them?", Naruto thought out loud, looking up and picking on her lower lip as usual.

"Until they ambush us." stated the Uchiha, frowning."Let's just keep moving for now, we will decide on the way. Staying in one place won't be good."

The two girls agreed. The trio sat off, hopping from tree to tree.

A few minutes later Naruto declared she needed to have a pee. Sakura was about to yell at her for being so unladylike again, but a look from Sasuke stopped her. There were being followed. Sasuke decided to leave it to the blonde. His eyes locked ahead. The darkness and the vile atmosphere around the trees was unnerving. There might be a more powerful opponent ahead.

"Hurry up dobe", he commented. Naruto nodded, smirking and turned around, speeding off to her left.

It didn't take long for her to find the pursuer. He himself had appeared in front of her with a cocky smirk on his face.

"Hah, I got the easy prey. A silly small girl, it will be easy to take ya down!"

He had an Amegakure hitai-ate on.

Naruto crouched, slipping into her taijutsu stance.

"Bring it on, bastard!"

* * *

><p>A few minutes later, Naruto joined them.<p>

"I dealt with them. So Sasuke-kun, what do we do next? What do you say, Sakura-san?"

She found a kunai thrown at her from both gennin.

"What? Why…"

"You suck at henge", said Sasuke, eyes narrowing. _Where is the real Naruto?_

"That's right. Maybe you have got the physical alikeness down to the last hair, but you indeed suck. Naruto never called Sasuke by 'kun' or me by 'san'.

Sakura was also glaring, kunai ready. Their senses were alert, ready to move anytime.

A sickening laugher erupted from the pseudo Naruto as she vanished in a poof of smoke to reveal a Kusagakure ninja. A female. The one that handed Miatarashi Anko her kunai with the weird long tongue.

"You truly are as they say, a genius, Uchiha Sasuke. Good, very good!"

"Sasuke-kun..she seems really strong..", whispered Sakura.

The raven haired boy agreed with her. This girl gave off a very powerful aura, and a dangerous one. But there was the issue of Naruto. They couldn't just leave her. No matter how much he wanted to test himself against this girl, he knew his limits, and he was sane enough to understand that sometimes you needed to retreat.

But where _was _the dobe?

"Ah, you are a coward I see, show me the power, Sasuke-kun, show me the famous Sharingan! Or was the youngest of the Uchiha survivors a weak coward? , Itachi would be really disappointed. He is far stronger then you, Sasuke-kun~"

The girl released some KI. It sent the gennin to their knees, shaking like crazy. Sasuke felt his bones on fire, fear crawling up his chest. This was nothing like the killing intent of Zabuza. This ..whatever it was..was literally choking them. He felt something sharp rush at him and implant in his brain. His mouth was wide open, but he couldn't scream, his voice chords seemed to have been cut off. His eyes were bulging, the pupil contracting in a mad pace. He heard a dry sob. Willing his neck to move, he looked at Sakura sideways. She was staring at the ground, shaking like a single leaf in winter. There were tears in her eyes. She didn't blink, seemingly having lost or forgotten the ability to do so, hey eyes were wide and empty, devoid of every emotion but one - fear.

No..he needed to do something, anything..he was the man of the team, and his team needed him now. He wasn't weak!

He saw the kunai's sail through the air, directed at both of them. If he didn't do anything and fast, they were both going to die.

Butt he killing intent was so potent that he couldn't move, he couldn't think, his mind had gone blank.

Dimly he registered a kunai in his own hand. Without thinking much, he stabbed himself in the foot. The feeling of upcoming insufferable death disappeared, his mind cleared, focusing once again. Grabbing Sakura, he jumped away, securely putting her limp and frozen form on a higher branch.

"Kukuku..Seems little Sasuke –kun isn't that much of a coward. Now fight me! And show me your power, mastery of the Sharingan! Itachi's Sharingan was very strong and developed.. .are you scared again?", the woman taunted, smirking and patting the huge purple bow hugging her torso.

Sasuke snapped. Flashes of his nii san going through his mind, he gritted his teeth. His coal eyes bled red. Two black tomoes swirled in circles. The Kusa girl just smiled and opened her arms in a welcome.

Grabbing hold on his kunai, the boy flew at the girl in a flurry of taijutsu kicks and punches. None landed a blow. She kept dodging. To Sakura, who had come to her senses and was watching the fight unfold with fear in her eyes, it looked like chase between a cat and a mouse. The girl was toying with her Sasuke!

"My, my, you are weak..", he laughed.

Sasuke, landing on a spare branch, used it an anchor and flew back at her, Sharingan blazing. There was ninja wire in his free hand.

He circled around the girl, delivering punches and roundhouse kicks. The wire went around with him. She girl, having enough of the display, punched the boy in the gut, making liquid come out of his mouth and he flew back in pain. Her laugh was cut off, when Sasuke, twirled around in midair and grabbing the strings with both hands, pulled on them, hard.

They cut into her skin, tying her up lib to limb. The Uchiha ,kunai in his mouth, jumped to the opposite branch and pulled again. The impact slammed the girl on the brick of the tree. The boy smirked and quickly forming handseals, thought "Katon, Ryuka no justu!" . The fire dragon sailed through the wired and burned the girl along with most of the tree. The shuriken, hidden in the flames implanted in the target with a SQUELCH.

Sasuke smirked. Sakura wasn't so calm however, something felt wrong about the Kusa girl from the very beginning.

"Kukuku…that was pretty interesting. Did you make that justu just now? Sasuke kun-we are s alike…"

The voice was a baritone, but the slithering sound of it didn't change.

What the hell was going on?

The smoke finally cleared and the two gennin were met with a sickening sight. The right half of her face was peeled off, melted parts of the skin dripping on the ground. The mask, or whatever it was revealed a single, yellow eye with a slit for the pupil. There were purple lines around the ye and going down to his nose.

The man was smirking.

"Let's play more, Sasuke kun! You want the Earth scroll, right? "

With that, much to Sasuke's and Sakuras utmost horror, he swallowed the scroll.

"Now, fight me if you want to get it…"

Sasuke thought of the situation, analyzing it.

"If..i give you our Heaven scroll..you let us, me and my teammates go."

The man laughed that weird laugh again, making Sakura want to gag.

"Sasuke-teme!", screamed a voice.

The raven haired boy and the pinkette simultaneously thought..._Naruto_

_"_What the heck are you doing, teme! Can't you see he is just toying with you? It doesn't matter if he gets our scroll or not! He came here for a reason! Can't you tell by the way he fought and his chakra levels, heck his level of _evillity_…I don't care if it not a word, ttebayo! He isn't a gennin, or even a chuunin for that matter!", she ranted, landing on the same branch as Sasuke and the Kusa-nin. Her clothes all were torn and dirty to a degree that the orange was hardly seen. Her blue eyes were narrowed at her teammate.

"Ah, you survived my snake summon? How curious, Kukuku, who are you?"

_Snake summon?_, thought Sakura, her mind going overdrive, slowly piecing the puzzle together.

Naruto glared heatedly.

"That thing swallowed me whole, dattebayo! I had to cut my way through!"

Sasuke was just rotten to his spot, for once, not knowing what to do.

"What's the matter with you, teme! This isn't you! The Sasuke I know isn't a coward, and thinks with his head!"

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

Sasuke's retort, which was never really going to leave his mouth was cut short as the trio stared. An enormous snake appeared in a cloud of smoke.

Their eyes widened. Juts who was that Kusa-nin? Sasuke had to admit hat the dobe was right. This level was far to advanced for a gennin.

He stared at Naruto, who nodded. They cast a glance at Sakura, she nodded as well.

They had to try and fight. They had no choice now.

* * *

><p><strong>er, small chapter i know. was the fight scene ok? i m not sure if i remember it correctly but since its a fanfic, and there will be some changes, like sakura figthting as well, just deal with it. hope you guys enjoyed it. next update tmrwo most likely. i have so many things planned t this fanfic, i want to finish it while i can. i have my diploma work on my neck here too lol.<strong>

**review please. **


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

They jumped into a familiar formation. Sasuke and Naruto at the front, Sakura at the back,hidden in the trees. All three were serious. This was no longer an exam, it was a fight between life and death. All three understood that the man wanted something from Sasuke. Naruto and Sakura would sooner die then let that happen. He was their teammate, their family, their friend. And the Uchiha understood this. For the first time since their bell test, the trio finally registered what meant 'one for all and all for one' that they had boasted.

They will fight with everything they have!

Sakura started quickly forming handseals, a row of shuriken ready beside her. But she needed the right moment…waiting, waiting…

Her eyes focused ahead, fingers still clenched in the last and final hand seal.

Naruto and Sasuke, both lowering themselves to their stances, with an invisible signal, rushed to the man.

The blonde leaped from the branch and swung her foot up to deliver a kick to the head while Sasuke, crouching low, aimed to his stomach. The man twisted around, so did the two, changing their positions right in the air. Sasuke's foot collided with the man's stomach, sending him crashing to the tree. Naruto, putting all her speed to test, rushed at him from above, hand outstretched and glowing with blue, sizzling chakra. Her hand didn't touch the shoulder she was aiming for, since the Kusa nin, evaded, but the wind chakra did it's magic. It tore the shirt open and cut the flesh in a straight, deep line. Dark crimson liquid was flowing through the wound. The man gasped in surprise. He wasn't expecting to be harmed, from what they could tell.

Jumping back, both teens quickly deactivated their weight seals and, smirking, flew back at the man with incredible speeds. To Sakura they were mare blurs, dark orange and blue, flying at the nin who barely had the chance to evade all the attacks. He was bleeding from various cuts now and had a lot of bruises.

_Now! _thought Sakura and finished the last hand seal, putting all her chakra control to test.

Naruto and Sasuke flipped back and landed on a branch, eyeing the man, who had started laughing maniacally again, like he had won. Both turned to stare at Sakura, who, thought panting slightly, was smirking.

"She put him under a genjutsu…wonder what she is showing him…", mumbled Naruto, gasping for breath. Sure they had kicked him around like a flea bag, but that didn't mean they were unscathed. Both had a lot of cuts and scratches. Their chakra, even for Naruto, was running low.

"We need to finish this fast", coughed Sasuke and quickly made the appropriate hand seals. Naruto, deciding not to be useless, thought of a way to aid him. Wind made fire stronger and more potent and dangerous. But she didn't know any wind jutsu. Well, it was time to improvise then.

Sakura gasped behind them and screamed. The genjutsu broke. The nin was scowling at them.

"You brats! This is unexpected, I will have to finish this fast."

Snakes erupted from his sleeve, catching both gennin. Naruto panicked and let out raw wind chakra, shredding the snakes in pieces. It showered the area with blood and torn, half alive flesh. Sakura was disgusted. Sasuke, following Naruto's example, let out raw fire chakra, burning the flesh alive in a crisp. Kunai flew at them. Both, leaning on the tree with their hands, heaved off and flew upwards, away from harm. Sasuke, not wasting any more second, made the handseals. Above him, he saw Naruto doing the same, both started with the 'horse' handseal, but instead of Sasuke's next 'tiger' handseal, she went with 'tatsu', the dragon handseal. The rest went in a blur, as their hands flashed through Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse and Tiger/Dragon respectively. Sasuke hoped with all his heart that the dobe had a plan.

He gathered the fire chakra in his mouth and took a deep breath, bringing his fingers to his lips in the process. He felt Naruto use his shoulder to flip higher into the air. There, she copied his movements.

"_Katon, Gokakyu no justu!", _

_"Fuuton!_ _Gokaze__kyu no jutsu!"_

As a giant fireball erupted from Sasukes lips, a huge contrasted ball of wind flew from Naruto's, and combining as they met in the middle rushed at unnerving speeds towards the now shell shocked Kusa nin. The resulting eruption and burning was so intense that all three gennin had to jump back and shield their eyes.

"Whoa...I never imagined it would be thins much of damage, and to think, I just changed a hand seal and channeled my wind chakra..", whispered Naruto, eyes wide.

Sasuke was staring at her with anger and disbelief. This was the dead last. Since when was she so strong? A small voice in his head told him she was always strong, he just didn't want to accept it. After all, didn't he himself create a jutsu when he was fighting the Kusa nin one on one?

Trying not to dwell on it, his eyes focused on the black smoke which was slowly wavering.

They waited for a sign, holding their breaths. This wasn't a normal shinobi, there was no guarantee he was dead or even harmed.

The seconds ticked off. The tension grew. All three gulped.

Sweat rolled down the side of Naruto's cheek as she gripped her kunai tighter. Sasuke had close to no chakra now, and Sakura gave her all to the genjutsu..

Naruto felt a tinge of chakra in her left hand. The bracelet. Hell no! She calmed down, soothing her raging chakra. Neji..she wouldn't allow him to come here to help. This was their problem, she wouldn't let him die or get injured. The tingling stopped.

A puff of white smoke erupted within the black smoke.

Sasuke's eyes widened. All three leapt away as fast as they could. Milliseconds later, an enormous brown, scaly tail smashed the branch where they were sitting on to dust. The head followed suit, going up after them fangs leaking poison bared and ready to swallow everything on its way. Smaller snakes grabbed the trio, smacking their limbs together, choking them.

"Nnnggh…", gasped out Naruto, gritting her teeth. Sakura was close to fainting by now. Sasuke's mind went blank again. No matter what they did, the man just lived. How was he supposed to fight and kill Itachi if he was so weak now! Dammit! His Sharingan flickered on and off. His vision blurred.

"Kukuku….Kakashi's brats really are strong. This could be a problem. I will have to eliminate you before I take Sasuke-kun"

The voice wasn't laughing. It was pissed and the note of hysterical seriousness dug through their brains.

"I wont let you take Sasuke, you freaky snake bastard!", screamed Naruto. The air around her shifted. It grew hot, even boiling. The snake around Naruto burned to a crisp in a slithering last moan. Crimson red chakra erupted from her. Rage filled her thoroughly and only one thing registered in her brain. The Kusa-nin was an enemy, he wanted to hurt her teammates.

"LKE HELL!"

She ripped thought the snakes with sheer force and punched the giant reptile hard on the noste. Blood sprouted all around the nose and the eyes. The snake went back to it's realm with an angry hiss.

The snakes gripping Sasuke and Sakura left the two captors in fright, fleeing fast. The two sat dumbfounded, staring at their teammate. Her eyes were red. No trace of the playful cerulean blue. The slitted black pupils were glaring menacingly at the man, whose fake skin had melted away completely to reveal chalk white skin and the twin yellow cat eye. There was caution in them, some fright and amusement. Oh yes, he was greatly amused by the girl.

Her fangs grew pointed and down her row equally blood red lips. Her whisker marks lengthened and her long, blonde hair, now free from its bind was flying behind her seemingly forming metaphorical 9 tails.

The man's eyes widened but before the smirk could fully appear on his face, the wind was knocked from him, making him choke out some blood. The blonde jinchuuriki was attacking him and clawing at every piece of flesh she found. Added to the raw wind chakra, it left devastating wounds on him.

He was thrown back at the tree again.

Naruto paused and glared, crawling on a branch. Like a fox.

The man's strengthened up, an ugly scowl never leaving it.

"Naruto! He is dead serious!", yelled Sasuke, watching with wide and helpless eyes. He couldn't do anything…_weak.._

The blonde, even in the kyuubi mode heard him. She barely saw him move. Next thing she knew, she was slammed on a tree. Something warm tickled on the back of her head. Her brain froze for a second. She saw him above her, the wide, homicidal smile back on his face. The eyes showed nothing put pure ecstasy in seeing her bleed. His hand was raised above her stomach area. The fingers glowed purple. She felt him stab her with 5 knives around her belly button.

"Gogyou fuuin!"

Her vision blurred as she felt the energy supporting her leave. Her hand prickled with chakra again but she could barely feel it. The throbbing pain at the back of her head made itself known. She wanted to scream out in pain, but all energy had left her. The last thing she saw before her eyes fluttered close was the image of Neji..his worried face…

She must have been dreaming.

Sakura screamed, seeing her teammate collapse. The Kusa-nin who was still laughing maniacally, rounded on the two of them.

"Sasuke kun, you will come seek me yourself. I can give you power to defeat Itachi..then, I will get your body…"

To Sakura's horror, his neck started expanding and in a flash, he was right beside Sasuke, fangs deeply implanted in his neck. Droplets of blood flew smoothly from the twin tooth bites. The had went back to the neck.

"This was quite an entertainment. Leaf has become stringer then I expected it to be."

"W..who are you! What did you do to Naruto and Sasuke-kun!", demanded Sakura, her emerald eyes blazing with anger and unconcealed fear.

"I am Orochimaru, little girl. And Sasuke will come to me, I shall acquire his body and the Sharinagan!"

Sakura choked back a gasp of surprise and anger. Orochimaru disappeared.

She breathed a sigh of relief and looked over to her teammates. She needed to find shelter and help them. After all, she had studied the medic scrolls. It was time she put that skill to use. She will protect them with everything she has.

* * *

><p>She cleared the sweat forming on her forehead with the back of her hand and finished the last handseal, casting a genjutsu over the area. It was efficient. She needed to preserve some chakra for the healing.<p>

She turned around and went deeper into the cave she had found. It was remotely safe and the traps she had laid out would be sufficient enough. At least they would ward off unwanted company while she heals her teammates.

Naruto was sweating. Her brow was furred and face was marred with a grimace. Carefully turning her around, Sakura,making a hand seal, placed her hands over the head would. They glowed green. She knew this wasn't enough to heal, as it was only meant to cure little damage like small cuts. She feared there might be internal bleeding as well. Focusing her chakra and pouring it in an equal, slow flow, she thought of all the determination the blonde girl put in everything, especially to save her and Sasuke. Both her teammates had been able to create or modify their jutsu in the heat of the battle, while she just collapsed after the genjutsu. She wouldn't be useless to them.

The green glow grew stronger. She felt the ripped tissues and skin slowly mend together, the damaged cells regeneratin fast. The pinkette had noticed that Naruto healed fast, but she was glad she was helping accelerate it.

After 30 minutes, the head would was nearly intact. Sakura slumped. It really took a toll on her. But she had no time lazing around. She needed to heal Sasuke as well.

When she crouched to the boy, and looked him over, she only noticed several small cuts. And the weird black three comma mark on his neck.

He was burning with fever. All she could do was place a wet cloth on his forehead and change it every 10 minutes.

Suddenly, she heard a snap outside. Cautiously, she peeked out, hand gripping a kunai.

Sure enough, there was the team from Otogakure. One of them was pulling several kunai out of his hand. The girl was rubbing her forehead.

"That was one heck of a genjutsu, how did we even get caught in it?", she ranted, obviously angry.

Sakura's eyes narrowed. The three made their way towards the cave.

With one last look at her teammates, and a vow to protect them like they usually protected her, she jumped to the ground, landing on the grass on two feet and leaning on her right hand. Her left hand was at her back, kunai positioned. Internally, she said a 'kai', releasing the chakra weights.

"Give us the Uchiha brat, we have come only for him, "snarled one of the boys.

Sakura narrowed her eyes further.

"Never! I will never hand in Sasuke or Naruto. You will have to pass through me first!", the pinkette declared and waited, her foot digging into the wet soil.

She didn't have to wait long as the long haired girl attacked her. After taking a few hits and analyzing the girl, Sakura channeled chakra into her fist and punched her, when said girl, thinking her opponent was weak came closer, unguarded. The punch sent her sailing through the air. She hit the ground with a THUD. One of the teammate ran to check on her. She was out cold.

"You bitch!", yelled the bandaged one and thrust his right hand foreword. It had a weird metallic machine attached to it.

A gust of wind blew from it at incredible speeds, knocking the pinkette on her back. She clasped her hands over her ears. The weird wind was making strange sounds. They were making her disoriented and dizzy. She felt herself freeze up, unable to move the second time today.

She felt someone yank her hair harshly. Raising her eyes, she looked at the boy, the one with spiky hair, glaring at her.

She was powerless now. The jutsu his teammate used made her unable to move. It was so much like killing intent, yet different at the same time. She felt a stabbing pain in her stomach. The boy as kicking her with all the anger and deceit. There was a kunai in her bloodied hands, but she could hardly move them to even touch the small blade.

In the end, she was too weak to protect..her friends..

"I'll finish this bitch here, Dosu, go get the Uchiha and kill him. Orochimaru-sama didn't say anything about the other teammate. Dispose of her"

Rage boiled inside of her. Her fingers clawed around the kunai. Faster then the spiky haired male could predict, the kunai flew to him. But he was far away, she wouldn't be able to even graze his arm.

To his surprise, she brought it to the core of her hair and cut through, sending pink locks flying around them. Next thing the boy knew, there was a roundhouse kick coming at him. He flew back, coughing up blood.

Sakura shakily stood up. There was no chakra left at al, but she will keep fighting no matter what. If she could, she would laugh at the thought. Her blonde teammate was infectious with her words.

Dosu lunged at her, whirling his arm around again. His teammate, though staggering a bit, copied him and raised both hands to attack.

Sakura gulped.

A whirlwind knocked her back. She fell on the hard ground again. Peeling her eyes open, she noticed there was something green in front of her. Shielding her.

_It's the weird eyebrows boy..what was his name? Lee?_

"I will never forgive you for hurting my flower"

The tone was low and dangerous. Somewhere at the back, an icy cold voice flew through the green canopy.

"Juuken!"

At the same time, Lee rushed at his opponent kicked him high in the air. Sakura could only watch through her half swollen eyes how the green gennin flew up as well and appeared above the other boy. The wrappings on his hands came undone to be tied around the spiky haired Oto-nin.

"Primary Lotus!", bellowed Lee, his eyes burning with fire.

He started to spin them both, making the onlookers dizzy. Next thing Sakura knew, they were falling in a straight line to the ground. The speed was incredible. She only registered a blur.

She closed her eyes and looked away. The smacking on the ground made her heart clench. She was a shinobi, she needed to get used to gruesome sights.

Willing her confidence to come back, she turned around and opened her eyes. Lee was standing before an unconscious Zaku, while his teammate, the Hyuuga boy was glaring at the equally unconscious Dosu.

Both Konoha gennin were pissed.

They heard a psychotic scream. The long haired girl was on her feet again, one hand on her head, the other gripping a kunai. She made to move but her limbs weren't following the orders her brain gave her.

"This is really troublesome.."

Three figures appeared, with the middle one holding his hands in the 'rat' hand sign. His shadow was attached to that of the girls.

"You are the Nara heir," stated Neji.

The boy nodded. Ino ran to Sakura. Chouji with a well placed blow, knocked down the girl. Shiakamaru released his Kagemane no justu.

"What the hell is going on, Forehead! We saw you guys fighting and both Sasuke-kun and Naruto were sleeping…what happened!", Ino demanded, helping her friend up.

Tenten jumped through the trees with several scrolls in her hands.

"I secured the area with traps. We are curious to know what happened too. A minute ago we were heading to the tower, then there was huge blast of fire and suddenly Neji changed direction. You are Haruno Sakura right? So what happened?"

The pinkette sighed and slowly gave them a brief explanation. Silence followed after she had done.

"What was the purpose of Orochimaru of the Densetsu no Sannin coming here and disguising himself as a student?", came a monotone voice.

Every head turned to the voice. It was Shino. Team 8, from what it seemed, seeing the fire also came to investigate and aid if needed.

"I…he said something about wanting Sasuke and his Sharingan..he said Sasuke will come find him himself, seek for power…and he bit him on the neck..", whispered the girl, shaking a bit.

"Chotto matte…he bit Sasuke on the neck? Like a hi..-", he was smashed in the head by a very annoyed bun haired kunioshi. Shino raised hi eyebrows. Not that anyone saw, but he was impressed.

"Kukuku…so he was one of the sannin? "

Sakura paled and turned back, her eyes widening. The other Konoha gennin stilled.

"Sa..Sasuke-kun?", the pinkette uttered.

His face and hand was covered in black markings, left Sharingan activated. The eye was pure black. And he was laughing. The laugh reminded her so much of Orochimaru's…it was unnerving.

"Sasuke-kun, stop it! STOP IT!", she screamed and ran to him, hugging him around the middle. Tears sproutd from her eyes in anguish. What had that horrible man done to him?

A few seconds later, the markings slowly vanished, returning to the small black one on his neck.

Sakura's spine nearly snapped under the weight.

She lowered him to the ground. Is breathing came hard, but slowly it calmed down. He raised his head and looked around.

"What..happened..? Where is the dobe?"

"He did something to her too…but you woke up sooner..", said Sakura, still a bit terrified. She proceeded to tell the story again.

Neji nearly ran inside the cave. Shikamaru raised his eyebrow but shrugged. Shino's eyed followed the Hyuuga behind his sunglasss.

"We need to regroup and plan. Did you guys get the needed scrolls?"

He was met with nods from Tenten and Kiba.

"We were attacked by Orochimaru from the very beginning, we never had the chance to even look for a scroll." muttered Sakura.

"Whish one do you need guys? We have a spare Earth scroll..", suggested Kiba. Shino and Hinata nodded.

Sasuke smirked. "We have Heaven."

The Inuzuka boy threw him the other scroll, which was quickly placed in is pocket, next to it's twin.

"From here on, we stick together. I don't care if its exams, we all have scrolls and we are Konoha shinobi. We never let our friends get in trouble. We shall go to the tower together, then split up at the entrance as one team is allowed only one."

Everyone nodded.

"We need food first..and some firewood as well. There should be a river nearby. Some of us should go hunting..", the boy continued, all the time thinking of the calm life he had just a few days ago. This was all really troublesome.

* * *

><p>Neji stood at the entrance, hand on the stone wall, staring at the figure lying on the ground. His breath hitched. He ran foreword, crouching low and looking at her wounds. His eyes roamed across the various small cuts and the amount of dried blood on her arms and near her head.<p>

He gulped and placed a tentative hand on her forehead. She was burning up in fever. Did that snake place a seal on her as well? Like the one on Uchiha?

Gently, he lowered her collar. The skin on her neck and shoulders was unmarred.

He let out a breath he was holding.

But something still wasn't right.

He heard footsteps.

"He..hit her in the stomach, I think he yelled something like gogyou fuin.", stated Sakura. Behind her stood Sasuke, glaring slightly at Neji.

_So he sealed her chakra? She must have been using the kyuubi chakra at that time, then it vanished out of the blue. He must have put some restraint on it. 5 elemental seal?_

He needed to check it. But..

He turned his head slightly. Shino and Shikamary where there as well.

"We should leave. Neji-san, help her if you can.", stated the Aburame heir and left. The rest followed.

_Thank you, Shino._

He carefully unzipped the jacket and lifted up the black shirt.

The seal was visible. He activated his Byakugan and narrowed his eyes. The flow was normal, like it usually was when he check on it sometimes. The chakra concentrated there flowed in a spiral, gliding in the same direction as the seal was drawn. When it reached the edges however, something stopped it and kept pushing it back. The chakra was supposed to slowly leak out in minimal amounts, like the blood acceleration system. This explained the fever.

His eyes locked on the 5 small kanji which had formed a circle around the main seal.

5 elements.

Water, Metal, Earth, Fire and Wood.

An odd number against the even number of her own seal.

Didn't Haruno Sakura say Orochimaru called it Gogyou fuin? He had heard of it from his uncle once. There was a reverse seal as well. All it took was to put the right element on its opposite to rid the seal.

His eyes stared at the kanji again.

He couldn't make a mistake now. It would endanger Naruto if he did.

Clearing his mind of any doubts, he focused.

The chakra that placed those elements was so tainted. He pleaded in his heard to all the Kami there for this to work.

Slowly, his fingertips glowed with light blue chakra, a kanji for each element appearing on it.

He took a deep breath and slammed his palm on her stomach. The girl wriggled in pain, tears rolling down her closed eyes.

A few minutes later, he removed his hand, trying not to look at her face. He had caused her pain, and he still didn't know if it worked. For all he knew, he could have made it worse.

Nervously, he looked at her stomach. The odd numbers vanished, along with the elemental kanji. Her own seal, now intact also disappeared as she most probably was relaxed and wasn't channeling chakra in her sleep.

He heard a small groan. Her eyes fluttered open and she sat up, wincing.

"Neji?.. What are you doing here? Wait, we were attacked by a weird snake freak and.."

He put his hand over her mouth and sighed, overwhelming relief warming his chest. She had woken up.

"That was Orochimaru, one of the sannin. From what your teammate told us, he wanted Sasuke's Sharingan. When you and the Uchiha where knocked out, she brought you here. Then you where attacked by an Otogakure team, who seemed to be working under Orochimaru's orders. I had felt your chakra when you went into the kyuubi mode, so me and my team rushed to help. And not only us. Teams 10 and 8 are also here."

She just stared at him with big eyes. His hand hadn't left her mouth yet.

"He put seals on you and Sasuke. I was just removing the one over your kyuubi seal. "

She blinked and raised her shirt, eyeing her stomach area.

He let go of her mouth, not wanting his hand to linger there. He might do stupid things if he didn't control himself after all.

"I…thanks, Neji. But, I really didn't want you saving me. It was our problem and you could have gotten hurt…", she mumbled, looking away.

She found herself pressed to his chest. He was hugging her so tightly that she had trouble breathing.

"I don't care if its an exam. I will always be there to help you and fight beside you, Naruto", he whispered.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, both not wanting to let go.

"I am getting your shirt all dirty…", she mumbled.

They broke apart. Neji had an eye twitching.

The blonde just rubbed the back of her head and winced doing so.

"Damn..did I hit my head?"

Sluggishly standing up, she lost her balance, only to be caught around the waist by the older boy, who wasn't looking at her.

"Come on, lets see what the others are up to. We still have 4 days, and all of us have the scrolls.."

"Really? How..", she wondered as they walked out of the cave.

Securing the fragile girl in his arms tighter, Neji jumped.

"Naruto!, you are awake! How is your head wound? I tried to heal it as much as I could..", exclaimed Sakura.

Neji let go of the girl, rather reluctantly ( Shino raised both eyebrows), and making up an excuse of checking the surroundings, left hurriedly.

He felt like screaming to the heavens that all of this was extremely troublesome. With one last look at the blonde, who was cowering and trying to hide from his teammate, whose hands where glowing green, he sighed.

This exam was like personal hell for him. Seeing Naruto hurt..it made his chest ache in anguish. He would give everything to be the one hit instead of her. She shouldn't be hurt, not her, never her. Heck he knew, that he would readily sell his soul out to the Shinigami if it meant her wellbeing. Why was he being so hasty? Why was it that he lost all the careful control he had over his emotions when something happened to her? Was it the disease again? He was having serious doubts about that. He was no fool. Deep down, he knew it was no disease. He wasn't just ready to accept it yet, whatever it was.

* * *

><p><strong>time to start another rant. i will not ever bash a character. just cos you ate sakura that doesnt give you right to flame this fanfic.<strong>

**go watch the anime again. i am not to fond of her as well, but she wasnt abusive only to naruto. she hit everyone who annoyed her. and she didnt hit naruto every 5 seconds. he always sprouted idiotic stuff. i am not trying to approve of it, but its no reason to call her a slut and a bitch. whe did she ever act slutty in the anime? do you call asking for dates slutty? sorry but ther are a lot of good looking guys in schools and they have thier fan clubs in rl too. are these girls all sluts? you are just fainding a reason to bash sakura.**

**next, my fem naru isnt a coldhearted foxtailed bitch who understands meaning of life after nearly dying or talking to the fox. sorry but if you want a bitchy naruto , go look for other fanfics. **

**i stick to cannon cos thats how i want it. nearly all the fem naru i myself had read didnt portray a fem naru in the cannon. this is what the fic is about.**

**there will be changes, but not now.**

**dont like it, dont read. just dont flame. **

**the sakura hitting naruto on the head part (go reread, she even hit sasuke here. ) its a team 7 thing. like i said, dont like it, no one makes you read. there will be no bashing.**

**right, now that the rant is over, i have a few q to those who read the chap.**

**How about a sakura/zaku pairing here? i thought of it as a possibility while writing this. what do you guys think?**

**i know there was a lot of hher in this chap but bear with it.**

**the romace between neji and naru will gradually grow. but i dont promise anything bit till neji has the talk with hiashi. thats where i will explain why neji thinks of it a disease. **

**also i gave a slight hint on who i am planning to pair up tenten with. 3 guesses who?**

**review and dont flame please.**

**oh, and remarks on the fight scenes? **


	23. Chapter 23

**warnings? er fluff i guess lol. **

**to those who are curious how naruto's hair looks like, there's a link in my profile.**

**erm, i know its kyuubi's human form but this is just to show how the spiky hair that goes straight at the back looks like. this is the hairstyle i thought of. maybe if i have time i'll draw her own myself for you guys to have a better idea. **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 23<strong>

It was twilight. The small campfire was burning. The slight breeze swimming smoothly through the air flickered over the fire, making it throw interactive shadows at the wall of the cave. Sasuke, Kiba, Chouji and Lee where gathered there, the latter poking the fire with a stick. They had gone fishing before that, accompanied with Tenten and Shino. Currently,seven rather big carp where sizzling on the fire.

Their stomach's growled.

Shino was conversing with Shikamaru in a low voice. In reality, it was more the shadow boy talking and the other nodding and adding one or two words. Tenten was sitting on a rock, sharpening her kunai. Hinata, Sakura and Ino, sitting close to the older girl were looking at Naruto with disgust. Not that the girl herself was any different.

Naruto looked down at herself, wrinkling her nose. Neji had left almost 20 minutes ago and she was worried. But she trusted him, and he was strong, there was no way he would be hurt.

A strand of filthy, almost brown hair rolled down her cheek from her head.

This brought her thoughts back to her current predicament.

"You need a bath…", muttered Ino, her hand clasped over her nose, "And forehead too…I wish we could swim somewhere, but the river is cold!"

Naruto wholeheartedly agreed. But she needed a change of clothes, ASAP. Her jumpsuit was torn so much that it was beyond recognition. The orange was covered with dried blood, filth and muck. It was almost brown. Her hair was no better. The greenish liquid from the snake's stomach, which she had cut through, seemed to have stunk to it. The smell was horrible. Dimly, she wondered how Neji, being a clean freak himself, could manage to be around her, and even hug her.

He must have been disgusted.

However, the fact that he willingly stayed with her made her heart swell with warmth. Those small acts meant so much to her.

And he came to her aid as well.

Technically, everyone came, but still..

She tried hard not to smile.

"I would like a bath as well..", said Tenten, sparks flying off her weapons as she polished them.

"There is a small hot spring due south, about 100 feet away"

They turned.

Neji had come back and was currently heading their way.

"Really? Lets go then! Plus hot water will help the wounds" exclaimed Sakura and both pinkette and platinum blonde ran to that direction. Shikamaru sweatdropped and muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'troublesome blondes'. No one corrected him that Sakura was not a blonde…technically.

Neji's lips quirked upwards in a small smile. He saw Naruto glare at her muck dripping hair and scowling, follow the other girls.

Hurriedly, he moved to her and grabbed her shoulder.

"Eh? Neji? Get away, I smell like something died and revived on me…", she bristled, trying to push away his hand. It didn't budge.

"You need clothes as well. The jumpsuit is in rags. Did you bring any change?" Her sheepish look was an answer.

He put his hand in his shorts pocket and pulled out a small scroll. Naruto eyed it with confusion, which only increased when he thrust it in her hands.

"Well, I took liberty of brining it just in case. These are the training clothes I used to wear a few years ago."

His face was the stoic typical Hyuuga look. Nothing gave away the turmoil of emotions raging inside him. The girl was surprised.

"I..thanks Neji. I feel like a burden to you. You came to save us, you took off the five elemental seal, and now this..", her voice trailed off, an embarrassed blush forming on her face.

"Don't worry about it. I promised not to let anything harm you. I already failed."

There was a bitter note in the way he said it.

"Oy, Naruto-baka!"

"Haruno-san is calling, you should go."

The hand left her shoulder and he turned away.

Naruto, resisting the urge to go after him, sighed and left to the other direction, where the rest of the girls had gone.

She ran through some sticky grass and weeds and jumping on a tree, looked around. She heard giggling and splashing.

With a tired huff, she jumped to that direction.

The sight was breathtaking. The whole area was hidden by tall trees, most of them willows. Inside it was like a whole new magical world. There were flowers all around the small water pond in the middle. Steam was coming of it. The rocks around it were hot to the touch. The tall trees shielded everything. Only the moon shone right through the small gap the branches created.

"Whoa..dattebayo..", breathed Naruto.

Ino and Sakura were already in and were currently splashing themselves. Tenten and Hinata were just about to enter.

"N..Naruto-chan..", stuttered the Hyuuga heiress and blushed.

Said whiskered girl just gave her trademark smile and started taking off, in some cases peeling off the dirty clothing. The small scroll was beside her other scrolls on one of the rocks.

After taking of the last garment, she sealed them in a spare scroll. She wouldn't just leave it here. After that, she walked up to the hot spring and smirking, jumped in, splashing all the others.

Twenty minutes later, all the girls left, feeing refreshed. Naruto, bidding them a goodbye, sank deeper. She wanted some time alone, to think over things and properly wash the grime off her hair.

Her cuts stung, especially the one the back of her head, but the hot water also calmed her down, soothing her in a way. She scrubbed her arm, half of her face in the water.

_Orochimaru attacked us. He wanted Sasuke-teme…Well, at least we didn't die. Didn't the book say he was very strong? Rivaling the Sandaime?_

Her hands went to her hair and she dipped her head down the water, closing her eyes. She moved her palms around her scalp, avoiding hitting the place where the wound was. The grime dissolved in the water. She let bubbles escape her mouth a few times.

_Neji and the others are helping out. Dammit, I feel like a weakling again. I don't want saving..i don't want him to see me so helpless, ttebayo. How am I supposed to beat him if he keeps helping me out?_

She returned to the surface and shook the water from her eyes, hands going to her hair again. But she didn't feel like it. In fact, she didn't even feel like moving a limb.

She was so tired. Physically and mentally.

So many things happened in these few days..

She created her own seal, looking at teme's jutsu, created her own variation of it (if it didn't already exist, that's is), fought with one of the sannin and survived..

Neji kissed her…

Then basically swore never to do it again.

The hollow in her chest increased. Depression started filling it. Naruto felt like she had lost something…something very dear to her. Part of her would never belong to her. It already belonged to him. But she would never have a part of him to fill the emptiness.

It sickened her. Was this really Uzumaki Naruto? Why was she reduced to this…

Would it have been better if she never met Neji that fateful day? What would have happened if she just didn't go to that training ground?

No…she cherished the bond they shared. She wouldn't ever regret meeting him, getting to know him, falling in love with him.

_He took off the gogyou fuin. Tch, he really is a genius. True, figuring it out isn't that difficult, but i studied fuuinjutsu, that's why it seems easy for me. _

_He felt me use the furball's chakra..again. in the end, it comes down to this.._

_Why do I feel like I have failed him…_

She had completely forgotten about cleaning her hair and was watching the blue waters with a calm, almost indifferent look.

_The exam will end soon…wonder what will happen.._

She didn't hear quiet footsteps behind her, nor did she feel the figure crouch down. Her mind finally registered that someone was there when two pairs of hands gently touched her hair and started washing them.

She closed her eyes. The person, whoever he was, was not only washing, but also massaging her head, making her feel sleepy and dazed.

"You should be more attentive to your surroundings, Naruto," murmured a voice softly.

Naruto's eyes flew open wide and a wild blush covered her entire body, not just her cheeks.

"Neji! What are you doing here, dattebayo!", she yelled, not daring to turn around. He just 'hm'-ed and continued washing her hair. The golden color slowly emerged as the brown dirt disappeared.

"I noticed you weren't there with the others when they came back, so I decided to check if everything was ok. Why are you brooding?"

The question caught her off guard.

"I am not brooding, dattebayo!", she pumped her fist in the air, then remembering her predicament, quickly hid it under the warm water. She sank so low that only her eyes and above where visible. The hands paused, then resumed the cleaning.

"You spend too much time with Uchiha," he said seriously.

The blonde snorted. She was used to his rare outbursts of teasing. She always liked it. She really wanted to see his face now, but was too embarrassed. She was _naked _after all, and he was _washing _her hair! This looked like some kind of a prank. Putting her hands in the ram seal, she tried to dispel the genjutsu. Nothing happened.

His booming laughter vibrated somewhere behind her.

"This isn't a genjutsu, Naruto, I am really here.."

The way he said it made the girl shiver and blush even more, if it was possible. It was like..he was telling her he will always be there when she needed him or if she desperately wanted to see him, he will appear.

He will never leave her side. Not even under torture.

The sentence screamed that.

"I am glad…", she whispered. The hands stilled for a second again but then patted her on the head.

"Sasuke has a seal on him, it seems to make him do and think violent things," he said. Naruto saw through the attempt to change the topic. He himself had taught her that.

"I will take a look. If that's so, I might have to seal it or something. But it most probably will be advanced level of fuuinjutsu. I haven't opened those scrolls yet"

She brought her hands across the smooth surface, creating ripples.

"Did you bring something here?"

She noted his voice sounded slightly from the left, where the scrolls where.

"Yeah, but the only thing like that is Minato Namikaze's notebook. You think it will have something I can use there?", she asked

"Well…you are a genius when it comes to fuuinjutsu, almost like you where born to do it, I am sure you will figure something out."

She smiled at the praise.

"You are one too. You figured out how to do the gogyou kain without direct knowledge on it."

He laughed and rested his elbow on her head.

"Well, it wasn't that hard. I knew the name, and I knew the elements which created the disturbance between your even numbered seal and the odd numbered one."

The girl gave a small laugh.

"I think mine is the Hakke no Fuin, the 8 trigrams seal. Maybe there is something like that in the notebook. I mean, it seals off the dark chakra and the evil anger of the fox, so I think a weaker one, like a 3 trigrams seal or a 5 trigrams seal would do it as well..but I will have to check the seal on teme first..", she mused.

A few minutes passed in silence. Naruto closed her eyes.

"Its comfortable here..", she slurred, half asleep.

"You really want to sleep in the water? Come on, get up. You will get the sleep in camp. Plus everyone is worried."

She nodded but didn't move. This made the boy raise an eyebrow and patiently wait for her to say what was on her mind.

"Say Neji…what if you want something so much that you value it even over your own life, but you cant have it…or other.._s_ ….don't want it..what would you do?"

_What is she talking about?_

"I would fight for it, maybe tell someone about it. If it really wasn't wanted for me to have it, then I would just secretly desire, without being selfish and taking it from others, if, of course, it did belong to others. But first I would check if really was it desired or not..i am not really making much sense.."

"Heh, neither am I with the stupid question, so we are even, dattebayo!"

Her arms were crossed over her chest just in case. Though her heir covered her around like a halo, but nevertheless, taking the last precaution, she slowly raised her head, he cerulean eyes searching for familiar lavender.

He wasn't looking at her. His face wasn't even facing her, and there was some hurt and distress portrayed there.

"Neji," she whispered. He slowly turned to look at her. Lavender finally clashed with blue.

"Naruto.."

The hand on her head circled around her. The other hand joined. It looked like he was holding her in a headlock, keeping the girl in a weird firm embrace around the neck.

He placed his chin on her head. His brown hair joined the waterfall of yellow.

"Do you have any idea how scared I was when I saw what had happened?..i don't want to lose you. I know you might think of yourself as weak, but that's not true. You just seem to be bumping right where danger lurks. Either you and your team are a magnet for danger.."

She chucked, her own hands going over his, giving him a light squeeze of reassurance.

"It's the other way around Neji, I think danger finds me…hehehe, dattebayo!"

Her flaming cheeks were brightened with a smile.

Then the fact that he was hugging her (even if it was technically her neck) while she was naked finally clicked in her mind.

"Neji you hentai teme! Get off me! ttebayo!"

This exclamation made the boy jump back a few feet and his face flame into the brightest shade of pink. Very quickly composing himself, he snorted.

"Get dressed.", he quickly threw her the small scroll and left the small paradise.

Once out of there, he sank to the ground, hands digging in his hair.

Just what had he just done?

When he saw her swimming in the spring, alone, something in his clicked off his rational side. When it had clicked on, he was already washing her hair. At that time, he tried very hard not to stare. True, only her neck and sometimes a shoulder was exposed, but he couldn't help thinking that she was nude there. That was why he tried to focus on his surroundings, like the flowers, the moon, the trees, the bugs crawling here and there..

Not that it helped.

When she called his name, he knew she was determined to catch his eye. Fighting of the rational side was really hard, and he was slowly loosing it. When they had finally locked eyes, he saw a goddess in front of him, so pure, so beautiful, so fragile and strong at the same time. He needed to reassure himself that she was real, that she was there, unhurt, alive..

He had hugged her. He knew he must have been scaring her again, but he didn't care, he needed to be sure.

After all, he nearly lost her today.

The smell of blood had gone, and her hair smelled distinctly of the water. It was a very nice fragrance. He would have loved to sink his nose in it and never come out.

His own personal heaven.

His drug.

So alluring…

He remembered the feeling of her lips on his own. Would it be so bad to kiss her now? This disease was curable with the kisses then?

Before he could even think further, she had called him a pervert. The warning bells had gone off in his head as the rational side was back, yelling at him for being such a bastard and disrespecting the girl in every manner possible. Hadn't he promised himself that he wouldn't evade her privacy? What he was doing now was worse.

So he quickly fled, after chucking her the scroll.

That was were Naruto had found him, sitting on the ground, arms propped on his knees, head down and eyes closed.

"Oy Neji!"

He snapped to attention and got up.

He did a double take, eyeing her from head to foot, making her eye twitch.

"Yeah, yeah! Not my fault you where fat three years ago!", she screamed. This made him chuckle.

It looked good on her. Of course it was nothing special, just plain black pants, which were slightly big for her and hang low on her hips and a simple black t shirt, that had fishnet attached to the neckline and the short sleeves. It was a bit big as well, reaching past her waist to her hips. But it looked good on her.

Her wet sun-kissed hair was simply cascading down her back in a wave, her spikes already coming out around her face.

"Don't tie your hair again, it looks good like this. Come on, we are late. And I wasn't fat, it's not my fault you are as thin as a chopstick, and a chibi."

"Who are you calling a chibi you teme!"

He just stood close to her and showed him the difference in height, smirking. This made her see red, but before she could scream something else at him, he had already turned on his heel and was walking to the direction of the cave. After staring with a 'what the hell' expression, Naruto ran after him.

"We can just say that we got lost on the road of life…or a black cat was stuck in a tree and we had to recue it."

Neji glared at her.

"How about I was drowning an annoying blonde?", he suggested.

Naruto, not knowing weather to laugh or nor, just shrugged, much to the amusement of the Hyuuga.

As they walked back to the camp, Naruto noticed that most of the guys where eating the fish, sitting in a comfortable circle. Her stomach growled and she ran off to join the kunichi's, Lee, Kiba and Chouji near the fire.

Settling between Tenten and Kiba, she grabbed a fish and started stuffing her mouth.

"Naruto! You are back! What are you wearing?" asked the pinkette, curious.

Ino stared at her outfit as well.

"Its not a females outfit…Spill Naruto!"

Hinata blushed, recognizing the clothing.

"It smells of the Hyuuga.", sniffed Kiba, chewing his fish.

"Eh? Yeah, well Neji gave it to me before we went to the hot spring."

"Hyuuga Neji? Why would he give it to you..", Ino wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. Naruto chucked the bones of her fish at her, scowling.

"Because Naruto and Neji have been friends for over 2 years.", stated Tenten casually. This was met with a long silence.

"Huh?", voiced Sakura

Naruto nodded.

"Their flames of youth really shine so brightly!"

"Shut up Lee..", muttered the bun-haired girl while taking another bite.

"How do you two know?", asked a confused Kiba.

"Well, Neji was a prick before he met her, then he changed, and we as his teammates, noticed. It was funny how we tried to find out who the mysterious person was."

"Yes, I still fear coming to that compound and facing Hyuuga Ogichi again..", shivered the green clad gennin.

"Why, what happened?", asked a very curious Ino, propping herself on her elbows and listening attentively. Tenten started teling the epic tale of their adventures and failed plans.

Naruto was laughing.

Sakura turned to the other Hyuuga.

"Hinata, you knew this as well?"

The shy girl nodded her head.

"Naruto, it suits you," said Chouji through a mouthful.

"Arigatou, Chouji!"

Suddenly remembering something, the blonde jumped to her feet and rushed to the small group gathered near the edge of the cave, namely to Neji, Shino, Sasuke and Shikamaru.

"Oy teme! Let me see the seal that Orochi-teme placed on you..eh? why are you guys glaring…"

A few minutes later Naruto was examining the three comma mark on a shirtless Sasuke with serious, narrowed cerulean eyes.

"This looks like a creation, something like a cursed seal. Teme, what does it do?"

"Hn. It keeps whispering me things and his image keeps appearing in my head, making me want power. And I can't use my chakra, it starts to activate."

"Right..Ne Shika, can we stay here tomorrow as well? I need to research a few things and I will try to seal this thing, but for that, I need daylight and a few other things as well."

The Nara frowned but nodded.

"What will you need?"

"Well, teme might collapse again after I reseal this, so we will need medical herbs, but I don't know any.."

"I do."

It was Chouji. Beside him stood everyone else.

"Right, then you, Ino, Hinata and Sakura will go after the herbs."

"Sakura has to stay, she can heal him a bit.", sated Naruto.

Shikamaru nodded.

"Teme…", she turned to look at Sasuke, who was putting on his shirt. " I.."

"Dobe." This single word and the tone of his voice were enough for her to understand the hidden meaning.

_I trust you._

So she clapped her hands together and went to the cave, pulling out her scrolls. Neji and Sasuke followed, the latter to simply light a fire there as well.

After a small glaring match between the two boys, the Uchiha left. Neji sat cross legged beside Naruto as she opened the notebook.

As her eyes canned through the pages, she asked.

"What where you guys arguing about? Sasuke-teme looked like he was going to kill you, ttebayo."

"We..had a slight misunderstanding.", stated the Hyuuga, as the memory clashed in his mind.

**Flashback.**

"Hyuuga."

"Uchiha"

They were facing each other, glaring. Shikamaru, who was standing beside them, sweatdropped and muttered a 'mendokuse' Shino just stayed silent.

"I want to know what the hell did you give to Naruto now. And stay away from her. You have already done too much."

"What I gave to her is none of your concern, Uchiha, and what makes you think will listen to you? You are nobody to be, they why prey tell would I obey you? You are not my superior."

The glaring intensified. Both started leaking killing intent.

"You..if you dare come close to her, I will make you pay!"

"Who are you to demand and say such things?"

"Naruto is like a sister to me! Who she talks to and what she does is my business as well."

Neji raised a surprised eyebrow, as well as Shikamaru and Shino.

"I was under the impression you viewed her as a child birthing machine. Naruto deserves more then to be part of harem and be unloved and forced to do things. I will never let that happen!", he snarled.

"What…ok, I admit, at first I wanted that, but then it changed. Why am I even telling this to you, Hyuuga. Stay away from her. This is a warning."

His eyes flashed red, revealing the Sharingan.

"Naruto is my friend, I would never hurt her."

"Geez, you guys are troublesome."

"if I might add. It is evident both of you care for her. But Naruto-san is not a child, Sasuke-san, she knows who to trust and who to ignore. And even if she might be wrong, let her learn on her mistakes. Do not baby her. She is no longer a toddler."

The other three gaped at him. They had NEVER heard the boy speak so much at a time.

"And Neji san, you are in denial." The by pushed his glasses up and didn't continue.

A few minutes later, the glaring returned.

"What did you give her!"

"Well just wait and you will see. I have no obligation of telling you whatsoever. You aren't blind, after all."

"Why you.."

The conversation died when the girls started calling them to dinner. All of them where hungry. And Naruto wasn't back yet. Without thinking much, Neji silently slipped away from the camp. Only the keen eyes of the Aburame heir noticed.

**Flashback end.**

"Hn..", he grunted noncommittally and looked over at his blonde companion. She was reading a page with rapt attention.

"Here it is…I never thought we would find something like this here, but its rather weak from what I see.."

She pointed to a diagram on the page she was reading.

"Fuuja Houin. Evil sealing method. Its relatively easy to do, but its based on the emotions..and well…teme he wants power, that much I know, this seal alone wont hold this stupid thing Oro-teme put on him. But look here..", she quickly flipped through the pages and pointed to a complicated seal on one.

"See? This is the Hakke no Fuuin, the one on me. I read about it a bit, and it fits perfectly, I can most probably make a weaker version of it, the Sanke no fuin..er don't look at me like that, I know the name is weird..well, I thought that with the fuuja houin it will keep the cursed seal at bay. But it's going to be very hard, and I will need to practice on my bunshins before I try anything on teme…this is serious, if I do something wrong, I might even kill him.."

"Don't worry, I am sure you can handle it"

He didn't voice the fact that to him even the fuuja houin seemed extremely complicated, and he was sure he himself would need several months of training just to do it correctly. But Naruto had said it was easy..

She really was a fuuinjutsu genius. It must be hereditary.

And why did the Yondaime have Naruto's seal in his notebook?

While Naruto was taking out spare scrolls and already drawing characters on them, he looked at the notebook.

Beside the seal itself and the descriptions, meanings, something was written at the very edge.

_Kushina.._

_Who was Kushina?_

Storing the new information in the back of his mind, he watched the young Uzumaki work. For the first time in his life he was viewing someone work on a seal. It was a very interesting sight to say the least. The girl ignored everyone and everything around her, all her attention focused on the scrolls and her brush.

And he watched her with fascination he didn't hide. There was no need too. She seemed to be in her own little world.

* * *

><p><strong>hope you guys enjoyed. review.<strong>


	24. Chapter 24

**warnings? fluff again. :**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 24<strong>

His eyes where closing involuntary. It was the dead of night and he assumed about 5 hours had passed. It was close to 4 am. His back was leaning on the cold rocky wall of the cave.

Willing his eyelids to open, he stared ahead.

A puff of smoke was heard and an impatient groan followed soon after.

"It's wrong again! I need to think what am I doing wrong…", the blonde figure raged, messing up her hair. There was a slight note of hysteria in her voice.

"Do it again, Naruto..", he said, willing the tiredness and the ache in his eyes to go away.

She nodded and making a cross with her fingers, a Kage Bunshin appeared. It quickly lifted it's shirt to expose the stomach area.

The real Uzumaki had her eyes closed, concentrating on her chakra flow as she carefully formed each hand seals.

"Tori, Saru, Tori, Uma, Tatsu, Tora, Tatsu, Mi, Uma, Tatsu, Tori."

Her hand glowed with chakra and she thrust it into the stomach of the clone.

The three pronged seal started to form, but then it started changing shape, size, some elements mixed together and with a yelp of pain, the clone burst into smoke again.

"You are an idiot, Uzumaki," Neji stated with a blank look, rubbing his temples. His head was pounding and he couldn't even find the energy to summon his Byakugan. Not that needed it to point out the flaw, of course.

"What! What am I doing wrong?", she demanded, turning to him.

"That's _your _clone. And you are putting a new seal which is uneven numbered over the hidden even numbered one again. For a genius in fuuinjutsu, you sure make idiotic mistakes."

Her blood boiled and her fist shook.

"You are _so_ gona get your ass kicked when we get to the tower, Hyuuga Neji, dattebayo!"

"Yes, yes, I can't wait myself," he rolled his eyes." We need another bunshin here,and not yours."

She nodded, frowning. Her right hand found her lower lip again. Neji quickly looked away and tiredly stood up.

"I will get Shino."

Naruto sent him a glare as he left. He was acting really strange lately. Her mind went back to what happened in the hot spring. Her cheeks flamed.

Well, Neji was a close friend..besides, he didn't see anything besides her neck, which was open now as well. So what difference did it make?

But it did, and quite a lot.

She had enjoyed the hug immensely. The number of times he had embraced her could be counted on fingers, but she cherished every single one of them, and what had happened a few hours ago..

She knew it was a bit different. She felt safe in his arms. And loved, and..important to him.. Its was so peaceful. He was her sanctuary.

She shook her head to get rid f the thoughts as Neji walked in, followed closely by a half asleep Shikamaru and a wide awake Shino. It had been his shift at guarding. Naruto raised an eyebrow at the yawning Nara.

Both newcomers nodded to Naruto. Shino quickly made a hand sign and the bugs poured out of him, forming into a perfect bunshin. Shikamaru, making the 'rat' hand sight, merged his shadow with the clone. It became more real.

Understanding dawned on her.

"Ok…lets try this, ttebayo!", said Naruto in a serious voice and started all over again, slowly making all the hand seals and guiding her chakra.

Her hand glowed blue again. She ran at the combined clone and slammed her palm on it's stomach area.

Standing back, she waited, sucking in the air, not daring to release it yet. Everyone else was looking at the clone with narrowed eyes, waiting.

Slowly, the seal formed. A spiral design in the middle, reinforced with three kanji elements around it. The area it hit darkened, and the rest of the clone started paling. Soon, only the shadow remained, and the stomach area was buzzing.

"Congratulations, Naruto-san. My bugs cannot get out of the seal, which means you utilized it perfectly, diving the 'dangerous' part and sealing it in the stomach."

No one could tell, but he was smiling behind his glasses and high collar. Shikamaru yawned and muttered a 'troublesome'. Neji was smirking.

Naruto quickly put her palm on the sealed area and twisted it. Metaphorical clicks opened and the seal vanished. The Nara let go of his shadow. The bug returned to their owner.

After a minute of silence, there was a yell of 'I DID IT DATTEBAYO!'

"Right! Wake me and teme up when the sun rises. The seals I will put on him will take away all his energy. So we might end up staying here another day", stated the blonde with a huge grin. This was her second seal that she modified.

"That leaves us two days. If we jump through the trees at a fast pace, we should be able to get to the tower in time.". Shikamaru thought out loud, rubbing his nose.

"And if we run in trouble..", suggested Naruto quietly.

"We shall go in disguise then. A genjutsu to cover us would be sufficient, and some decoys. Naruto-san can make clones of us and separate them in different directions", said Shino. Shikamaru nodded and yawned.

"I am going to sleep. Ja ne"

With that, he slouched out of the cave. Naruto, sweatdropping had an image of a sloth in her mind for a second.

Shino, with a last nod, also left. He had a shift to finish.

Naruto crawled out of the cave and looked down.

Each team was huddled together beside the fire. Only two people where missing from the lot. Her and Neji.

Their respective teams where short of one person each.

She rubbed her eyes with an aching hand. She had been drawing and writing nonstop, putting ideas, scratching them, trying, complementing, scratching again..

And Neji had helped. Even if it was with small advices here and there, mostly about her manipulation of chakra for each hand seal or just his company, it was enough to make her confident and get a move on despite how much she wanted to sleep.

Her head throbbed. She really needed some rest.

She turned her head back to the cave. Her eyes softened. He was slouched on the wall, head dropping inch by inch. He was asleep, or in a deep slumber.

She carefully crawled to him on all fours, silently, not wanting to disturb him. After all, he didn't have to stay up just to keep her company. This made her feel guilty again. Because of her, he was suffering. He could have been already in the tower if it wasn't for her.

She moved closer.

His pale skin was illuminated by the dim light the moon gave, giving off a strange light…like he was a Kami descended from the skies, not a mare human being. The leather strings going down his face on both sides were mixed with stray, long brown locks that framed his angular face.

His face looked so calm and serene in his sleep. Like an angel. She halfheartedly expected black wings to sprout from his back any second.

Naruto moved her hand to gently place it on his cheek. Neji looked so..vulnerable when he was asleep. And she was witnessing it for the first time. This wasn't the cold Hyuuga solder who kept his emotions in check and a mask on, no, this was a handsome teenager, who still had innocence in him, innocence that even the first killing wouldn't take away.

He would show it only in his sleep..

Naruto took a deep breath as her hand gently stroked the warm cheek. She liked the touch. Her mind was screaming at her to stop, that she will only get hurt in the end, but she couldn't bring herself to care. This was her moment, and she wanted to keep it to herself. Maybe this was the only chance she will get.

His head moved slightly, Naruto made to move her hand away, and before she withdrew completely, his lips brushed against her fingers.

The controlled breathing didn't stop. He was still sleeping.

Naruto jerked her hand back and backed away, slipping on the ground with an 'omph!' and landing on her backside.

Her eyes snapped back to the boy, wide and scared. She didn't know why his waking up would scare her like that. She felt like a mouse for some reason.

Well, she thought bitterly, maybe it was time to be a _fox?_

She crawled back to him and slowly raised her hands, inch by inch coming closer to his face.

Her breath hitched as her fingers found the tie of his hitai-ate at the back of his head. Slowly, she started untying it. It would be better if he slept without that thing on. She wasn't an oblivious idiot not to notice that his head hurt during the time she practiced.

The metal plate slid of his forehead. She quickly took it and put it aside on the ground. The green seal was revealed to her.

Her eyes narrowed. She had vowed to do something about it, and when those stupid exams ended, it would be the first thing on her 'to do' list.

His head was still wrapped in bandages and the leather strings. She didn't know if she could take these off..if she dared to…

Her hand lingered in midair for a few minutes. Then her eyes lit up in mischief. He had always touched her hair, but never let her touch is hair..this was her chance, ttebayo!

Both hands slowly went to the dark brown halo. He stirred. She didn't notice. As her fingers where inches away from the rich chocolate locks, she found herself flat on the ground, both hands held captive above her and a now awake Hyuuga hovering on top of her.

Her eyes widened considerably. Her heartbeat increased. The silence was unnerving, she wished with everything she had that he wouldn't hear her pounding heart.

Her blush was harder to hide.

After all, she was trapped beneath him. His legs where on her either side, one hand grabbing her both and the other was propped on the ground near her head. She much for acting like a fox.

Somewhere deep inside, an entity opened one crimson eye and snorted, a flash of enormous white fangs appearing for a second.

He was smirking at her.

"And what..was little Uzumaki-chan doing?", he inquired, voice laced with laughter. His eyes were drawn upwards in a quirk. He was laughing at her!

"Why you…!", she squirmed, glaring. "Not my faulty you sleep so damn _cute_, dattebayo! Plus you always get to touch my hair, and I wanted revenge!"

He laughed, letting her go and sitting back to his previous position on the ground. Wait.._cute?_

The laughter was so genuine, so..innocent and teasing. It warmed her heart to hear it. It was so infectious. Chuckles escaped her as well.

"You took off my headband..", he said a few minutes later, touching his bare forehead.

She nodded. "You looked like your head hurt, and I took liberty of taking it off!"

He didn't say anything back, there was no need. She understood the silent and unspoken gratitude.

"When we finish this exam, I am going to take care of that seal of yours…", she muttered darkly out of the blue, kicking a stray rock in the cave.

He hummed.

"Naruto…about that, I have a surprise for you as well"

He bit his tongue, his mind mauling if this was right to tell her. But she deserved to know the truth, he couldn't keep it away from her any longer.

She gazed at him with curious sky blue eyes. He looked straight back at them. He needed to get this over with.

"When I found out that day about the kyuubi being sealed in you, I made a vow of my own, a promise to find out what exactly happened that night. I wanted you to know why exactly you where chosen to be the demon vessel"

She stiffened, eyes till wide. There was some fear in them and a spark of desperation.

"You yourself gave me some clues, clues that later I checked myself. I haven't found out much, but I at least can tell who your father was"

He could almost feel her anxiety roll in waves from her.

"You found the hidden room full of fuuinjutsu by falling in. You had applied your blood to it. There you found the Forth's personal notebook on seals. Later, you took the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing, where most of the justu where written by the Yondaime. It was guarded by a blood seal that you cracked."

He paused, eyeing her. She was gripping the pants tightly. Any stronger and she would rip them. It seemed the small slicks in her mind where slowly piecing everything together.

"The Yondaime sealed the kyuubi in you. His name was Minato Namikaze. Did you know, that he used to be teammates with my father? I had found a picture of their gennin team under Jiraya of the Sannin. He…he had spiky yellow hair and cerulean eyes.."

His eyes scanned her. She was staring at the ground, her eyes were red and puffy.

"So…he is my dad? Figures, from what I have read on him, he wouldn't use any other kid then his own.. why? Why did it have to be like that? What the hell had happened that the furball attacked? i…"

Neji sighed. He knew she would react like this.

"Maybe he thought you could handle the responsibility. And from what I see, you are handling it rather great. You know…the only ones who dislike you, and their quantity had lessened gradually, if you pay attention, are the younger generation of shinobi, namely gennin and chuunin and the civilians, who don't know anything. Besides, you are slowly proving to them that you are not the demon, but the human, the rookie promising gennin, Uzumkai Naruto.

She gave him watery smile.

"He had many enemies, I suppose that's why you weren't told. Otherwise we would have another war with there would have been assassination attempts as well."

A shaky laugh escaped her as she smirked at him. The light was back in her eyes. Relief filled him. She took it quite well.

"I'd kick their asses, ttebayo! Plus I don't want to take his name just yet, I want to be known for my own accomplishments, not his. I'll mater the Hiraishin and finish it, just you wait, or my name isn't Uzumaki Naruto dattebayo!"

She pumped her fist in the air, her hair jumping with her.

He just watched with a smile.

"Naruto, have you noticed a pattern in his notebook?"

"Huh?"

"From what I can tell, the seals there, all of them are meant to surpass and seal dark things, like potent chakra. Even your own seal is there. And there was a name, _Kushina_ written in one of the corners."

She rubber her chin, looking up. "Kushina?...I never really noticed, but now that you say it…maybe there was another vessel for the kyuubi at that time? I mean, where did it come from in the first place? Why did it attack Konoha all of a sudden?"

"Don't worry, we will find an answer. What are you going to do, now that you know?"

"Well…I guess I will talk to Saru-jiji first. And kick your pretty ass in this exam, become a chuunin, kick some more asses like Gaara's and Sasuke-temes…"

The smirk returned.

"You seem to be thinking of asses a bit too much, Uzumaki. You have a perverted mind."

"I do NOT dattebayo! I don't sneak on girls who take baths!"

This made him shut up and her smirk.

"Just go to sleep. You will need to preserve energy and chakra for tomorrow's sealing."

"Hai, hai..geez, no one can joke around here anymore…", she grumbled and curled on the ground beside the small fire. Minutes later, she was asleep.

Neji placed a palm over his face. She just had to do everything to remind him of..things. he ignored the fact that his mind jumped to them itself quite often.

It was normal of friends to do that right? All he did was wash her hair when she couldn't…besides, there were many mixed onsen out there, so what was different? Many families bathed together despite gender and age.

So it shouldn't be different, right?

But it was. And he could come up with only one explanation. It was HER, that's why it was different.

His white eyes locked on the sleeping figure. She looked so small and fragile. And it had nothing to do with her chakra capacity and physical strength. She was just fragile…and he wouldn't even let anything or anyone break her.

He remembered pinning her under him. The urge to kiss her had nearly overwhelmed him. His rational side was slowly leaving him.

Or was he pushing it away?

His head hurt, like someone was banging on it from the inside.

He sighed and crawling next to the blonde, closed his eyes, willing sleep to take him away from all his problems and buzzing feelings.

Somewhere during the night, his arm had found his Naruto and had curled around her waist, bringing the girl closer to him.

* * *

><p>Sunlight was stinging his eyes. Groaning, he rolled his face away from it. His back hurt. He had been lying on something hard.<p>

There was a light smell of raspberries and ramen close to him. His stomach growled. He was hungry.

The wind blew harshly, flicking his hair out his eyes. Something soft landed on his nose. There was something warm beside him. He tightened his hold against it, bringing it closer. The scent intensified, filling his nostrils.

A few seconds later, he felt something weird.

The thing he was holding to was _breathing!_

Wait…the Chuuin exams…wasn't he supposed to be sleeping in a cave? Slowly, he peeled his eyes open. He was met with a sea of yellow.

His eyes widened as he let go of Naruto and jumped back, his head hitting the wall.

The girl whimpered slightly but scrunched her eyes. A few minutes later, she finally opened them.

Neji, trying not to stare at her disoriented blue eyes and her tousled hair, which fell in a spiky straight wave and curled on the hard floor, grunted and ignoring the pain in his head, composed his face in the typical Hyuuga mask.

"Get up, it's already morning."

She groaned but nodded, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

Neji exited the cave, palm on his face again. What the hell was wrong with his body? What was he thinking of?

He groanedas she slowly walked to the camp. His head snapped to the right, hand leaving his face slightly to stare at the figure, casually leaning on a tree. Sure, Aburame Shino was clothed to a degree that very little showed of his face, but Neji could feel the eyes pierce him.

He felt like he was being X-rayed.

"Neji-san. When a flower of that beauty blooms, the onlooker has only a few choices. Either he picks the flower and cares for it, simply watches it fade away unpicked and unharmed, not letting anyone trod on it, or observes how someone else picks it up and gives it what he couldn't. And flowers like that don't bloom every century. I repeat, you are in denial."

Neji opened his mouth to say something, but his mind had gone blank. This was the second time he had been told that.

Denial. Was he really denying something? He knew it had to do with the weird disease and his…reactions to a certain blonde.

A blooming flower…?

His musings where interrupted by footsteps. Tenten, Ino and Sakura where coming their way. Shikamaru was walking beside Chouji from the other direction. They were followed by a moody Sasuke.

Suddenly, Ino yelped and jumped back, pointing at something on the ground.

It was a bug. She had nearly trodden on it.

Sakura sweatdropped.

Tenten, however, scooped it up in her palm before anyone else stepped on it. She discarded it in the nearby bush, away from the overly panicky girls.

When she turned around, she found a surprised Shino staring at her. It was visible because his eyebrows had gone higher then his glasses.

"Stop staring", she shrugged her shoulders." It's a bug, so what? It has every right to live just like any of us. I wouldn't let an innocent life just die."

Flipping a kunai, she looked around expectedly.

Shikamaru cleared his throat.

"Well, now that we are all awake.." his brown eyes where flicked to the cave, where a blonde girl was jumping down.

"Er, sorry im late, ttebayo! There was just this huge toad I was hugging and..stop staring at me like that, teme…Sakura chan", she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, flashing them a smile.

Sakura facepalmed.

"She really is becoming like sensei," mumbled Sasuke, glaring at her.

She stuck her tongue out at him.

Neji, however, had gone into shock.

_A toad? Since when did he resemble a toad for heavens sake!_

Shino's shoulders shook slightly. Kiba and Hinata, who had arrived as well did a double take. Their stoic teammate was unmoving.

Maybe it was their imagination? Shino laughing? It was the end of the world then?

"As I was saying, now that we are all here, lets get down to business. Chouji, take Ino, Hinata and Tenten with you to gather herbs. Look Tenten, I am adding you to the squad for hunting. You will get the food while the others search for the plants"

The four nodded.

"Naruto, you get to the seal thing. Me, Shino, Neji and Lee will guard and keep lookout just in case. Sakura, you stay beside Sasuke and heal him as much as you can."

The rest nodded as well. The first four, with a last look and smile vanished into the woods.

Naruto beckoned Sasuke to the middle of the clearing. The space was covered by flat rocks, which gave a wide length.

Sakura was walking beside them.

Neji, Lee, Shino and Sahikamaru formed a circle around them in a 10 feet radius.

"Yosh! We will protect you with our flames of youth!", Lee yelled and fire burned in his eyes.

Shaking her head, Naruto turned to the raven haired boy and told him to take off his shirt and sit.

He complied.

The cursed seal was contracting.

"Calm down, teme, I need you to empty your mind. Think of something good or don't think at all."

"Hn"

The seal stopped pulsing.

Naruto unsealed her scrolls and plopped down what she had drawn that night in front of her. Unscrewing the ink, she dipper two fingers in it.

Taking a deep breath, she started drawing a few spirals around the seal, then she wrote kanji in straight lines, going all the way down to the flat rocks.

Her brow was furred as she worked, lips in a frown. Her blue eyes where icy and blazing with seriousness. Each character and kanji was drawn with extreme care.

She remembered the concept behind the fuuja houin. It was based on feelings, and the person who was doing the sealing had to simply write sentences in kanji, ones that would make out the good feelings and banish the bad.

Sweat rolled down her forehead as she worked.

"_Care, compassion, love, power from bonds, love for your friends, love for your family, love, forgiving, happiness, joy, fun.."_

She wrote them like a mantra, repeating them in her own head as well. Love and bonds where the only main things that were repetitive, but she was doing it for a reason. They kept her sane, they should keep him sane as well.

As she finished drawing the last kanji, she started forming the handseals in a rapid speed.

When she was done, she slammed her palm over the cursed seal. Like snakes, the kanji flowed backwards. The 3 comma marks stared swirling. Her palm was burning with chakra. Sasuke was panting. Finally, the last kanji disappeared and an interactive spiral like design was formed around the bite mark.

Naruto cleared the sweat from her forehead with the back of her sleeve. Sasuke was barely conscious.

"Sasuke-teme, don't fain yet! I have to add another seal over it. This one focuses on the feelings that keep you at bay from using the seal. But its not enough, so please stay put for a few more minutes!"

The boy nodded, gritting his teeth. He had paled considerably and his body was shaking. Sakura made a move towards him.

"Not yet, Sakura chan! I need to put the other one as well and fuse those two. If you add some chakra in his system now there is a possibility for the seal to malfunction, it can even kill him, ttebayo!", she yelled in a strong, forceful voice. The pinkette backed away, nodding fearfully.

This was the first time seeing her teammate like this.

Naruto took a deep breath again and slowly started forming the second set of hand seals.

_Tori, Saru, Tori, Uma, Tatsu, Tora, Tatsu, Mi, Uma, Tatsu, Tori.._

"Sanke no fuuin!", she whispered, slamming her palm over the seals once more. The sheer power behind the blow nearly sent the boy to the 6th cloud, but he still stayed conscious.

The 3 pronged seal formed perfectly. Naruto, dipping her finger back into the ink and biting the other, mixed her blood with the black liquid and added a few characters.

_Horizontal stashes to connect the seals, small rounded dots over that. That should give the seals their original purposes but acting together as a whole._

_And I need to even out the numbers. So two symmetric lines here…and two here.._

_A light spiral to indicate the wholeness..why does almost every fuuin have a spiral anyway? Ah nevermind.._

_There.._

She poured some chakra into it again. Instantly, the new seal dried.

"Done..i think..teme, try to use chakra…", she muttered uneasily. She was sure she had done everything right, but she was still scared. After all, she was tempering with a life, and a life very dear to her.

The Uchiha, shuddering slightly opened his half laden eyes and tried to gather some chakra in his eyes. His vision became clearer.

Naruto, took a fearful step and walking around him stared at his eyes.

"Sharingan activated..", she whispered, a smile slowly forming on her face. "Does it hurt? Do you feel something coming from the seal?"

He shook his head, a matching smile on his face.

"I don't even feel the seal anymore…"

"YATTA!", screamed Naruto, jumping up and down, much to the amusement of a certain Hyuuga.

"Right, Sasuke-teme, you are allowed to faint, ttebayo!", she grinned teasingly. Said boy glared at her . Seconds later, he was out cold. Sakura was there in a flash, hands already glowing green.

Naruto just ran her finger under her nose and turned to the 4 boys. Lee attempted to give her a hug, but found himself kissing the grass. Neji was smirking at her, eyes blazing with an emotion she had become used to. He was proud of her.

"That was an extraordinary sight to see." Said Shino, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his hidden nose.

Naruto beamed, still jumping up and down.

Shikamaru yawned and stretched. Inwardly, however, he was frowning. Team 7 was really strong, and he really didn't want to fight them one on one. And from what his father told him, there where always one on one fights at the exams.

This was so troublesome.

* * *

><p><strong>as one of you guys guessed, shino will have quite a rle in the story. he is mostly neglected and well, lets admit it, he is as smart as shika and as mysterious as kakashi. oh well.<strong>

**hope you guys liked it.**

**i decided not to wait till the final exams for the hiashi neji talk. it will be sooner. **

**i promise a small surprise as romance will go faster from now on. **

**i really didnt want to rush it, but it seems right to fasten some things up for now.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

"Finally!", huffed Naruto, raising her arms and stretching a bit.

The small group of the rookie teams and team Gai had reached the tower.

After Sasuke had rested the whole day (and healed. The herbs Chouji and his team had brought put the boy back to his feet in minutes. Even the others tried the herbal tea.) they moved out. They didn't even sleep out of fear of being late.

Just as Shino had suggested, Naruto had made decoys with her clones. The real ones where masked by a genjutsu (curtsey of Sakura). That was why they reached the tower just in time. On the way, the blonde had felt the clones dispel. Seems they where ambushed by some other rain ninja, who seemed adapted in genjutsu and where making weird clones out of it. Hmph, idiots.

"We must go our ways from here. Good luck everyone", waved Shikamaru as Team 10 went to the right.

"Forehead, whatever it is out there, I wont lose to you!", screamed the platinum blonde after them.

The pinkette laughed and smirking (she got the habit from Sasuke ) yelled that she wouldn't lose as well.

Team 8 left as well, with a nod from Shino and a boasting from Kiba. Hinata just poked her fingers together and glanced at her cousin, who stared at her passively. Naruto recongnised te unspoken words. _Do your best, Hinata-sama._

It was ironic how adept she was at reading him now.

That left Team Gai and Team Kakashi.

"We take this one, you guys take that one?", suggested Naruto, pointing to two doors.

Sasuke juts 'hn'-ed and without another word, opened the closest pair of doors. Sakura followed.

Naruto crossed her arms and huffed again. So much for being polite. They had, after all, helped them out. Shrugging and dubbing it as another 'Sasuke trait', she shrugged .Then, turning to the other three, gave them a thumbs up and a smile. After that she followed her two teammates through the high wooden doors.

Tenten twirled her kunai and grabbed Lee by the collar, dragging him to the last dual door before he had the chance to run after his 'flower' or yell about the flames of youth.

Neji just started at the place where the blonde disappeared, then shaking his head, followed Lee's disappearing green figure. From what he could see, Tenten was choking him. He sweatdropped then sighed. Typical.

* * *

><p>Naruto looked at Sasuke nervously as they at Sakura's command, ripped open the scrolls.<p>

Taking a peek there, she yelled that it was a summoning seal. Both begging dropped them on the floor and huddled together, kunai's raised and ready.

Smoke rose from the neglected scrolls and swirled around to reveal one Hatake Kakashi, for once, book nowhere to be seen. He was smiling proudly at his three gennin (at least the part of his face that was visible smiled)

"Maa, you where _very_ nearly late.."

The trio shared a look and smirked.

"Well…", started Naruto," there was a snake giving hickeys to little ravens around and we deiced to kick it's ass big time"

Sasuke nearly choked on his spit and glared at her. Sakura smiled nervously, running a hand through her now short pink locks.

"And then we had to go to a magical world, we had rabbis and pandas and rats and dogs with us."

"Don't forget sloths and bugs too.", Naruto added her two cents, snickering. Somewhere to their left a certain pineapple head sneezed and glared right at the wall, as if accusing it. On her right, a certain glasses wearing gennin sneezed, promptly making his teammates check for imposters and genjutsus.

"And then we had to help the creatures of the new world uncover some secrets, so we where busy. The road there was long, it was easy to get lost." ,stated the Uchiha, not batting an eyelash. "I wanted to kick some eagles for hanging out too much with foxes.."

Naruto stared at him scowling face. What the _hell _happened between him and Neji anyway?

Kakashi had a major sweatdrop forming on the side of his face. Even he wasn't that bad. Well, on the plus side, they seemed to be telling the truth..just exaggerating quite a bit.

Putting on his customary eye-smile, he led the way in.

The gennin followed, two of which where chortling, one was brooding and glaring at the ground.

* * *

><p>The room was enormous. The size of it rivaled training ground 7, which was one of the bigger ones in Konoha.<p>

Naruto was standing at the front, Sakura and Sasuke lined up behind her. Beside her where all the other teams that passed.

All the rookie teams from Konoha, plus team Gai, then there was the team from Suna, with the Sabaku siblings in it. Kabuto's team was also seen as well as the Oto team that had attacked them. All in all, there where 7 teams. 21 gennin.

Around them where some onlookers. That crowd consisted of their sensei's and all the examinators, who where standing beside the Hokage. There were other chuunin as well, most of whom she didn't know.

Her eyes focused on the Sandaime.

He was wearing his formal robe (she ignored the fact that he seemed to _always _wear it. It was so not cool in a way!). The usual pipe was gone. His eyes where no longer warm and bright, but cold and calm. This wasn't her jiji, this was the village leader, strong, serious. The aura he gave off reminded of the small lecture Kakashi had given them on the trip to Nami no Kuni.

The power of a Kage..

She stood straighter. Inwardly, she thanked Neji. She was immensely glad she wasn't wearing the orange jumpsuit now. True, it was her trademark, but this was serious, and she felt like she was representing her village.

As he started to speak, everyone quieted. Naruto listened with rapt attention. He was talking about the chuunin exams as a whole. So they where to show strength when there was no war situation? She felt like she was used.

But she let it go. This was how it had always been. And she will accept it. She could see from the loud outburst Kiba had given, or from the slight frown that marred Neji's face that her friends weren't exactly pleased. But no one argued with the point. She had to admit to herself as well, it was a right thing to do. Show the other countries how strong Konoha is, and if they dare to attack, they would at least know what's coming. From the corner of her eye, she saw the girl from Suna..Temari stiffen. But it was gone in a blink of an eye. Her eyes locked with the sea green of Gaara's. She stiffened. There it was again. He was staring at her like he wanted nothing more then to kill her. Those eyes where so a second she thought they had turned sandy coal…was it her imagination? And why..why did she still feel like there was something sickeningly familiar about him? They stared each other down. She noticed Neji staring at the redhead as well, eyes narrowd and the Byakugan slowly appearing.

A cough interrupted the small ritual like daze she was in.

. Naruto shrugged her shoulders and went back to the Hokage. She was probably imagining things. Her gut feeling was telling her to be wary of them. She locked eyes with Neji. He nodded.

A silent warning. _Garra is dangerous. _

She nodded back. _I know. Be careful _

"Now, the next exam.."

Before Sarutobi could say another word, a man appeared in a shiunshin before them, leaning on the floor with a polite bow to the village leader.

"Hokage-sama, I, Gekkou Hayate, the proctor for the third exam will take it from here.". The man coughed a few times.

Sarutobi nodded.

The man turned to face the genin. He was extremely pale and there where shadows under his eyes. He certainly wasn't in the best health, Naruto concluded and tried not to react when he broke down in a coughing fit. Behind her, she could almost hear Sakura's brain buzzing.

"Before the last exam starts, we will have preliminary rounds.", he rasped.

"Why?" voiced Kiba.

"The number of gennin who passed the second test is very high. The preliminary rounds are one on one fights. The computer above will randomly choose the pairs. The one who takes his or her opponent to the state of unconsciousness will be the winner. I and all the jounin will be watching the battles and decide when it is to be over. If you continue fighting even after that you will be disqualified. However, it is your decision to back down now. If you are injured and cannot fight for some reasons, you are free to go. From this point on, it's not a team test. Your decision will not have any influence on your teammates . I will give you a few minutes to think and decide."

Naruto let out her breath.

"One on one? This is going to be really interesting, eh teme!", she turned around to look at him.

He was smirking. Sakura however, was worried. Her green eyes where staring at his neck, namely the seal.

"Sakura, dobe fixed me up. I don't even feel anything from it. I will be fine."

"He is right, Sakura chan. The only way to weaken it is to take off the Sanke fuuin I placed. And then there is the fuuja houin too. He will be fine, trust me, ttebayo!"

The pinkette looked from one teammate to the other. They had twin determined looks on their faces. She finally nodded. Unknown to them, there where several people monitoring them. It wasn't a secret that Orochimaru had given the cursed seal to the last Uchiha. And the boy had lived through it. They needed to know the condition the boy was in. of course, no one expected such a turn of events. The dumbstrack chuunin quickly appeared behind Anko, Ibiki and the Hokage.

"He has the seal, but…the jinchuuriki, she sealed it off. The boy is perfectly normal and even said he couldn't feel the seal."

Anko's eyes went wide. Hiruzan rubbed his beard, thinking.

"It's impossible not to feel it! Even with suppression seals!", she hissed.

Ibiki, however, grinned rather ferally.

"She used fuuinjutsu to cheat at the first exam. Now she sealed the cursed seal off completely. Kakashi, your student is really something."

Said jounin was watching his team with a critical eye. As the chuunin had said, Sasuke didn't give any indication of pain. He was perfectly normal. So Naruto sealed it off? Hm…

"Raidou, did Naruto name the seal she used?"

The chuunin nodded.

"She said something about a Sanke fuuin and the fuuja houin. From what I understood, she somehow fused them together."

Sarutobi's eyes widened. Naruto was probably the only one who could surprise him like that. He eyed the trio.

_Minato, Kushina, you would have been proud of your legacy._

Kakashi just stared at Naruto, who was busy chattering to the other two.

"Well…I guess that the Uzumaki gene in her surfacing", he muttered. _Plus the fact that her father was fuuinjutsu genius as well…I should have expected this. _

Nevertheless, he will have to check the seal himself.

"That brat…" said Anko, disbelievingly.

Ibiki just laughed.

A silver haired boy with glasses raised his hand.

"Who is that?" asked the Hokage focusing on him.

Hayate flipped through his pages.

"Hm, name Yakushi Kabuto. This is the 7th time he participates in the chuunin exams. And he always leaves at this stage"

"Anko, I want you to investigate."

"Hai, Hokage sama"

"It's time to start."

Kakashi and the other jounin-sensei's poofed away to join their respective teams.

* * *

><p>The computer buzzed, names going in a rapid speed.<p>

The first one stopped.

_"Uchiha Sasuke"_

The other one was still going.

A poof was heard and a 'Yo!'.followed it.

Kakashi had joined them.

"I really have to learn that justu..", muttered Naruto.

"Sasuke, before you go down there I need to check the seal", said the jounin, putting a hand on his shoulder.

The boy pulled the high and wide blue collar down all the way to his shoulder, exposing his neck and the seal. Kakashi lifted his forehead protector.

A few minutes later, he pulled it down with a satisfied sigh.

"Good luck there, don't overdo it."

The boy nodded and went to the center of the arena. Soon, he was joined by Akado Yoroi, one of the gennin from Kabuto's team.

Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi climbed the stairs to the second floor and went to the railing.

"Go, Sasuke-kun!", yelled Sakura.

"Don't you dare lose Sasuke-teme!", Naruto added.

Kakashi just hummed.

"Naruto, that was quite an impressive fuuinjutsu you used there. You did well."

"Thanks Kaka-sensei! I was kind of learning it for over 2 years, so…", she trailed off. "I was really scared I might do something wrong, that was actually my first time doing two advanced seals..", she added in an undertone. She felt him ruffle her hair.

"Pay attention to the fight now. I don't think our Sasuke will like it if he found out you weren't watching."

"Hai hai.."

Naruto turned around again just in time to see Sasuke execute a roundhouse kick that send the other boy, Yoroi flying in the air.

Back in the arena, Sasuke was panting. He had just dropped back on the ground, barely managing to keep himself on is two feet. Up in the air, after he kicked him, his chakra started leaving him.

Glaring, he activated his Sharingan. The boy was leaking chakra and at the same time consuming it. The small thread of it led right to him, where he had touched the boy.

_So he eats away chakra. I will have to end this fast._

Running around the arena in a half circle to gain speed, he propeled himself at the surprised boy twice faster then before.

His fist catched his stomach and Yoroi flew into the air again, hacking blood. Sasuke, not wasting time, quickly formed some handseals.

"Katon: Housenka no justu!"

About seven small contrasted balls of fire erupted from his mouth, aimingat the older gennin. He barely dodged, landing to the left. His glasses where askew, clothes half torn, breathing labored.

He was about to turn around and laugh at the Uchiha for missing when something caught his attention. Shuriken.

They where hidden in the fireballs. There was some ninja string attached to each.

His eyes didn't even have the time to widen.

Sasuke smirked and jumping up, pulled, twisting and zigzagging his hands.

The string circled around the boy and the shuriken implanted on the limbs chest, stomach and backside. Blood oozed from the wounds, dripping on the stone floor. Someone in the crowd whisteled.

Not wasting anymore time, as he had inflicted quite minimal wounds, Sasuke kicked him again. Yoroi found himself in the air for the third time. His muscles contracted and he ripped through the bounds. He looked down. The Uchiha brat was nowhere to be seen. Left? No..Right? no..Behind? no…Above!

As his head turned up, a crashing foot collided with his skull. Blood sprouted from his lips as he went crashing down. On the way, the same foot did a summersault and delivered blows in a circle.

"Shishi rendan!", yelled Sasuke and delivered the last blow, adding chakra to it, like he had seen Sakura do so many times. The resultant CRASH and the enormous hole in the ground made him smirk widely. The tomoes spanned around and dulled to the regular coal black. He landed neatly on two feet and one hand, sliding across the floor by the impact.

"Winner, Uchiha Sasuke", announced Hayate with a cough. Screams and yells filled the audience, but there where two which his ears caught on almost immediately.

The 'Heck yeah, Dattebayo, you kicked his ass' and the 'that's our Sasuke-kun, Shannaro' was a little hard to miss.

With a triumphant smirk, he ran up the stairs to the second floor to join his teammates and sensei. Sakura attempted to give him a hug and Naruto thumped him on the back with a large smile. Kakashi just chuckled at them.

"That Shishi rendan was amazing! I wont lose to you! Just wait and see, I'll create my own jutsu right in the middle of the fight too, ttebayo!"

"Hn".

Kakashi put his hands on their heads and turned them around to the huge computer.

_"Zaku Abumi vs Aburame Shino"_

* * *

><p><strong>small chap. but give me credit, i am dead tired and want to sleep. anyways, hope you guys enjoyed.<strong>

**right, i have been leaning t the option that sasuke will stay but im not sure yet.**

**next, for all those who want different partner in those prelim fights, sorry, not happening. there will be a big diff whe naruto and sakura fight as well. but their opponents wont change. i want naruto to fight neji in the finals, its going to play a bigge role.**

**er what else? i dunno really. hope sasukes fight is good.**


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

"Shino is up. Who wants to bet he will do something cool and kick that Zaku's ass?", asked Naruto, leaning on the railing and twiddling one foot.

Sasuke just rolled his eyes and copied her, staring intently at the arena, where the two boys had appeared and where waiting for the signal.

It didn't take long for the brown haired chunin to utter a 'Hajime!"

"Eh? Why are they just staring at each other, ttebayo!"

"Hm, not everything is about brawl, Naruto, you must use your brains when fighting, otherwise you wont become a chuunin. Same goes for you too, Sasuke.", said Kakashi watching both gennin flinch.

"That Zaku…wasn't he the one fighting Lee back in the forest?", whispered Sakura, watching as said boy pulled one arm from the bandages.

"I think Lee broke his arms during that Lotus technique he used", she continued.

Kakashi's eye narrowed a bit. He will have to ask them what exactly happened there in detail. But that can wait.

Naruto watched with wide blue eyes as wind erupted from the arm, aiming at Shino.

"Huh? That's a weird futon justu…almost like its not real..", she wondered out loud.

Sasuke's eyes bled crimson.

"I am not going to copy, Kakashi, plus this thing is useless. Its not his own chakra, it's the metal thing attached to his arm."

The jounin eyed the Oto nin.

"True. Seems like it was surgically attached to his arm, or more like, a part of his arm was cut off and the metal thing was added."

Naruto blanched. Sakura paled beside her.

"Those Otogakure ninja…who would do such a thing?"

Nobody answered. They watched Shino dispatch a horde of bugs that circled Zaku around.

"You have one choice. Either attack the bugs and risk getting attacked by me, or attack me and get your chakra sucked out by my bugs", came the stoic calm voice of the Aburame heir.

He wasn't even winded slightly.

Back in the second row, Tenten was smirking.

"Toldya Shino was smart, ttebayo!", yelled Naruto, not taking her eyes from the fight. Beside her, Sasuke grunted, eyes back to coal.

"Heh, deception is the key to survival!", bellowed Zaku and released his second arm. "Both of my arms are working. You are done for."

Gathering chakra, he pushed everything he had into the arms, waiting for the familiar whistles to ring through.

Nothing happened.

"Deception, as you just stated. I had planted my bugs in every single hole in both your arms during the first clash we had. Now, due to chakra overload..", he let his sentence trail off. True to his word, the metal pipes on his arms where filled with bugs. He flet his chakra pshing with all it's might.

A few seconds later he screamed in anguish as his rams exploded, showering the small arena with bugs, splinters of wood , metal and blood.

He passed out soon after that.

Shino wasn't smiling. His face, though invisible to all, was wearing the usual unreadable look. But if one looked deeper, he would notice pity.

Then again, Zaku himself condemned to this fate. It was his choice.

"Winner, Aburame Shino."

Pushing his glasses up his straight nose, the boy vanished in a swirl of bugs, only to reappear later beside his teammates.

Tenten gave him a small, smirkish kind of smile from the other side. This made his eyebrows raise once more, complementing.

"I never knew Aburame was this good..", muttered Sasuke darkly, eyes narrowed slightly.

Naruto had the urge to smack him.

"Kurenai, Gai and Asuma also trained their teams. Just because they didn't stand out in the Academy doesn't mean they aren't strong, Sasuke. Naruto, Sakura, you both pay attention to this too. Nearly all of them are clan heirs. It's natural for them to be strong. Even Gai's team, who has only one person from a clan, Neji, isn't a pushover. In fact, they are very skilled and strong"

"Ino's team and Hinata's team are all clan heirs.", stated Sakura.

"Nope, Kiba is the second kid in his clan's main family. The heir is Hana neechan, ttebayo."

Naruto pulled a face. "But I see what you mean. We are the only team apart from Neji's that has only one person from a clan. But we will kick their asses anyway, right guys?"

They nodded.

_You are wrong in that one. I have two clan heirs on my team. Maybe in due time I will tell you. Hm._

Kakashi shook his head to rid himself of those thoughts.

"Aaah, next match. Pay attention guys. You can learn many things from just watching."

_"Misumi Tsurugi vs Sabaku no Kankurou"_

"The weird make-up guy from Suna team and Kabuto's other teammate. This is gona be fun, hehehe..", laughed the blonde gleefully, forgetting all about the talk they just had.

Her teammates just sweatdropped and turned to the battle.

"Why are they staring at each other again!", demanded the jinchuuriki, eyes narrowed in frustraition. Why did they all start with monologues?

"Teme, you started with a lecture too…", she pouted.

The Uchiha glared at her.

The pair a floor below engaged in a furious taijutsu match. Two seconds into it, Kankurou was caught in the arms on his opponent. The arms grew like rubber and wrapped around him, squishing the Suna boy.

"Something isn't right. The guy was really strong when we saw him that day, plus Akamaru was terrified of this team", said Naruto with anticipation. Her gut feeling was telling her that the match would end in the make-up guy's favor.

"That's a very weird and gross jutsu Tsurugi is using. How is that even possible?", asked Sakura, revolted.

"He seems to be fusing his chakra to the cells of his body, namely the tissues of his arms in this case. It takes very precise chakra control. But that type of a jutsu isn't the best to use in battle. Any ideas why?"

Kakashi was eye-smiling.

Naruto sweatdropped. He was turning this into a lesson. Not that she minded, but still. Her sensei was weird.

"Well, you might get attacked from the outside, if the one you are crushing isn't alone. It leaves you vulnerable.", she deducted, hand on her lower lip.

"And there might be a possibility of being tricked. Like a genjutsu. You might be crushing a dummy for all you know, then the real threat comes from the back and with one attack knocks you out.", grunted Sasuke. His eyes never left the battle.

"And it might damage your health to a point where you won't even be able to utilize your chakra. I think this jutsu widens the chakra coils. And if used periodically..", the pinkette rubbed her jaw, green eyes locked on the squishing below them.

"All of you are correct. My kawaii genin are really smart!"

The chuckle that accompanied this made all three 'kawaii' gennin sprout large tick marks. Silence filled the room, making them focus on the fight again.

"Look! I think teme's option is happening here, ttebayo!". The blonde pointed down.

A small part of Kankuro's face cracked. The texture and the build changed in seconds and wooden long chain like hands circled around him and the Konoha gennin.

A black clad hand popped out of the white, bandaged bubble that had been discarded on the floor.

"Nnnngh!", Tsurugi grunted in pain as the wooden chains tightened around him. His eyes filled with blood.

Turning his head slightly, he eyed the mummy.

Bandages rolled off to reveal Kankuro, his hands raised above his head, fingers outstretched. To each finger there was a light blue thread of chakra, which started from the tips of the digits till the Kankuro doll crushing his opponent.

"What is that?", whispered Naruto in awe.

Kakashi put his hand o her head and ruffled the grizzled blonde locks.

"It's the Puppeteers' justu. It's very famous in Sunagakure."

"How does it work?", asked an interested Sakura.

"He unleashes his chakra in equal quantity from each fingertip. Each chakra string connects to the puppet. They usually have hidden compartments and poisonous weapons."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at that.

"There was a man in Sunagakure, very famous for making the best and the most dangerous puppets. His name was Sasori. He even got a nickname. Akasuna Sasori."

Naruto's eyes widened.

"I think I have read about him, but it was only said that he was the grandson of one of the elders in Sunagakure, I think her name was Chio or something. She was also adept in seals and healing jutsu, second only to Senji Tsunade, ttebayo!

"You weren't this informative a few years ago", grunted Sasuke, glaring accusingly at her.

"I just started to READ teme! Plus after I met Neji he kind of _made _me read..but that doesn't count. I love that book, ttebayo!"

"That Hyuuga again.."

"Oy teme, cut it out…"

Sakura looked at them nervously. Both where slowly turning red with anger.

Knowing where this might lead, Kakashi hurriedly stepped in-between them and placing his hand on their heads, turned their faces back to the arena.

Just in time to hear the crunch of breaking bones and the agonizing moans the boy tried to keep inside. He too passed out momentarily and was taken away by the medics.

"Winner, Sabaku no Kankurou."

A 'Che' escaped his lips with an arrogant smirk as he joined his siblings. The girl, Temari was smirking at him. Gaara however, was giving him a cold, apathetic look, as if demanding to know what took him so long.

Naruto turned away, not wanting to catch the eye of the redhead, and focused on the blackboard again.

As the names stopped rotating, she grinned hugely and turned to look at her pink haired teammate.

Kakashi hummed.

"Good luck, and don't overdo it"

She sweatdropped and slowly climbed down, all the while remembering her childhood days with her opponent.

_"Haruna Sakura vs Yamanaka Ino"_

"Kick her ass, Sakura-chan! Don't you dare lose, ttebayo!", screamed Naruto. All heads snapped to hers and she ducked back, laughing nervously.

From the other end, she caught Neji's eye. He was smirking mischievously at her.

She could almost read his mind. She wasn't dotted on asses ttebayo! He was such a pervert!

"Shannaro, Naruto-baka, shaut up!"

Naruto ducked even lower. Sakura's head seemed to have grown big when she yelled that.

"Is she using Iruka-sensei's Big-head no jutsu", she whispered, horrified. Sasuke scoffed at her idiocy and ignoring her completely looked down.

Neruto pouted and with a glare, followed his lead. Kakashi sweatdropped.

Down in the arena, Sakura eyed Ino, her rival and her best friend.

"Ino, I wont lose to you. I will fight seriously and trust you to do the same."

She slipped her hand at he back of her head and untied the hitai-ate. Ino mirrored her, hands going to her waist and untying her own forehead protector.

"We are no longer academy students. We are kunoichi now. I wont go easy on you either, Sakura."

Memories flashed before her like a motion film. Ino smiling at her and offering help, making flower arrangements, lying in the flower beds, gossiping about boys…

She knew she wanted that again. She wanted her friend Ino back. Her eyes hardened.

Both tied the hiates on their foreheads.

Sakura pulled hard on the knot, the unfamiliar weight on her forehead making feel uncomfortable. But she would prove to Ino that she was strong. She wasn't a weed. It was her time to bloom.

When she raised her head, her emerald eyes bore into the sky-blue pupil less eyes of the blonde.

Smirking, she dashed at Ino, not using all her speed just yet. She wanted to keep it for later. Plus there still was the weight seal to deactivate.

Even with this speed, she was faster. Throwing her hand back, she brought it up with a crashing blow to the blonde's stomach. She stumbled but regained her balance soon, throwing her own punch at Sakura.

She ducked and flew back, landing on her feet.

She needed to distract her. Above her she heard Naruto cheering her on. This brought a smile on her face.

"I wont lose to you, Sakura! I wont hand over Sasuke to you"

To the pinkette's surprise, the girl cut off her hair, letting it drop around her.

Her eyes narrowed. Something was up. Ino loved her hair and grew it out especially for Sasuke. Plus it was traditional in their clan to have long hair in high ponytails.

They circled around each other.

Ino brought her hands together and formed a circle, the tips of her fingers touching.

Sakura narrowed her eyes and fastened her pace.

"It wont work on me. You have to aim for a straight line, and if I keep moving, you will never have the chance", she laughed outwardly, inwardly however, her mind was going in circles. She had walked right into her hair that was lying so innocently on the floor. In seconds, she deducted that the Yamanaka heir would use it to keep her in place. Then her justu would work.

She could use it to her advantage. It would prove a great distraction.

She let herself be caught in the trap, hoping against hope that her inner persona will chase Ino away.

"You lose, Sakura!"

She felt chakra run through the blonde hair and tie her in place. Next thing she heard was a cry of "Ninpo: Shintenshin no justu!"

* * *

><p>"What happened?" panicked Naruto, nearly hanging off the railings. Ino was slumped on the ground and Sakura was standing motionless.<p>

Sasuke activated his Sharingan.

"Ino's chakra is in her..but.."

"Maa", the copy nin reassured his two students, waving a hand. " its one of the jutsu used in the Yamanaka family. Its part of their bloodline. The Shintenshin no jutsu, in other words, soul replacement. Right now, Ino is in Sakura's mind. Most probably her plan was to inhabit her body, and forfeit. Then she would undo the jutsu and return back to her body."

"If Ino hadn't done it yet, it means something is wrong..", Naruto murmured, nibbling at her lower lip.

Sasuke agreed with her.

"Oy Sakura-chan! Kick her out of your mind, ttebayo!", the blonde bellowed on top of her lungs.

Silence followed this.

A few minutes later, Ino awoke, breathing hard ad holding her head. Sakura however had a tick mark on her face.

"Urusai, Naruto baka!"

After calming down, she looked at the still slouched Ino. It was time. Her hands hurriedly formed the handseals.

"Magen: Narakami no jutsu!"

Ino's eyes widened as cold sweat coated her body. A fem minutes later she screamed and promptly fainted.

Sakura sweatdropped. Did she suck like that as well? She used the exact same image Kakashi had used on her, except se changed Sasuke with Chouji and Shikamaru.

"Winner, Haruno Sakura"

"That's our Sakura!", yelled Naruto, jumping up and down in joy. Sasuke was smirking.

Kakashi looked over at Gai and wiggled two fingers at him.

The green clad jounin puffed his chest out and glared back.

Dazed, the pinkette returned to her team, all of whom where smiling at her.

"Well done Sakura", said the copy nin with pride.

"Thanks sensei", she blushed at the praise.

"Naruto, you are the last", Sakura turned to the blonde, smirking.

"Don't worry, I sure as hell won't lose, whoever it is I fight". Her hands rested at the back of her head as she smiled at them confidently.

She felt subtle killing intent. Her eyes locked with jade greens again. She had to admit, she really didn't want to fight Gaara. There would be destruction to a major degree if she did. Plus she might have to use her red chakra…something about the boy just screamed 'dangerous'.

Her eyes snapped to Neji's once more. He was staring at her, as if accusing of her thoughts.

Could he read her even from this distance?

She huffed and poked her tongue out, much to his amusement.

A cough from Kakashi brought her back to her team. Sasuke was glaring again.

_"Hiagarashi Tenten vs Shikamaru Nara"_

Naruto whistled with excitement. She knew Shikamaru was a genius and had the IQ of 200. And she had seen Tenten's strength as well.

This was going to be really exciting. She shivered with anticipation as a grin appeared on her face. Beside her, Sasuke was smirking as well.

Who would want to miss such a fight?

Kakashi strengthened and eyes Gai, giving him a cheeky wave.

* * *

><p><strong>i changed some pairs lol. <strong>

**spoiler alert? right, this is how it will go. **

**kin vs kiba**

**temari vs naruto (wind vs wind. i am sooo looking foreword to writing this!) i love temari a lot, but she will lose. dont worry, i will add somewhere the epic shikatema battle. **

**neji vs hina**

**garra vs lee**

**choujji vs dosu**

** right, now to answer some q. this fic will only go till the timeskip. but there will be some major changes. and i mean quite a lot of them. some of the things in shippuudent will happen now, i will..accelerate them :**

**anyways. i know the chap was boring and all, but i couldnt skip the fights. did you guys like sakuras change?**

**reagrding naruto's reaction to the fact that minato is her dad. well, she had to foucus on the seal and the exams and all, so she left it at that. but she will have a talk with sarutobi, and thats where the main reaction will be. i promise the neji/naru thing will go faster, cos i have planned that the old monkey and hiashi will reveal something more to those two. any guesses?**

**i write and update guys. my uni is during day so i have time in the mornings and after. thats why i usually post chapters close to night.**

**hope that answered all the questions.**

**oh, and about sasuke..well, the seals naruto put are really strong, so there is no way the cursed seal will affect him. however, if a certain one eyed bastard sneaks and removes them...and brainwashes our teme...**

**hehehehe im evil.**

**just wait and see, i have a loooot planned out for this fic.**

**review please. i really love reading them. and they tempt me to write several chaps a day :P**


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

Naruto quickly ran to where Tam 10 was standing and with a smirk, knocked Shikamaru down from the balcony/ He landed with a THUD on the ground and peeled his eyes open to stare at the whiskered face, which was currently laughing.

"Damn you, Naruto…tch, troublesome blondes..", he grumbled and slowly got up to face the bun haired girl, who was twirling a kunai in her hand. Another troublesome girl.

He really had no luck…

"Stop lazing around and kick her ass, ttebayo!", Naruto screamed. Asuma watched with a sweatdrop. Chouji just nodded. Ino was still unconscious, or else she would have yelled something along the lines of what the current sun-kissed blonde was yelling. He was sure of it. Maybe it was a trait in all blondes to be loud, brash and epically troublesome?

His mind wondered the Suna kunoichi, who was currently watching him with hawk-like eyes.

Troublesome.

Above, Naruto ran back to her team and ignoring the twin questioning gazes, stared at the arena.

The Nara was staring at the girl with a twitching eye. The brunette just smirked back.

"Scared of fighting a girl?", she taunted. Lee yelled about her flames of youth along with Gai. Neji, silently praying that his ears will be able to sustain the 'hearing' function after the exams, rolled his eyes and turned to watch the fight. It hadn't even started yet.

"Who do you guys root for? Shika or Tenten?", asked Naruto.

Sasuke just 'hn'-ed noncommittally.

Sakura stated in a fierce voice that she was for the kunoichi.

"Aaah, but Shikamaru is a genius. I myself cannot tell the outcome of this battle.", said Kakashi, leaning on the railing curiously.

Naruto nodded in agreement.

"Bet Shika wins, tttebayo!"

* * *

><p>Shikamaru Nara sighed and groaned, rubbing his face in the process.<p>

Well, he had better get it over with. The girl, Tenten, had seen his use of Kagemane in the Forest of Death. That was a drawback.

His eyes watched her measure the distance with her eyes and hook her hand on her back, where a few scrolls where attached.

"Hajime!", yelled the proctor and jumped away. Seconds later the Nara found himself showered by kunai and shuriken.

"Damn!", he cursed, rolling away. A few shuriken embedded in his arm and leg.

Close combat was a big no in this case. She trained under Gai. There where a taijutsu team from what he could deduct. And he himself was not good in hand to hand combat.

He watched her measure the distance again and propel herself in the air. She had taken two scrolls out and was currently waving them in a circle.

This wasn't good.

He needed to run, and now!

Just as the girl shouted something that sounded like 'flight of the double dragon', Shikamaru formed the seals for the basic body flicker.

The arena was showered with kunai, shuriken, knives, razors of different sizes.

Shikamaru barely managed to dodge. He didn't get unscathed. His cheek was bleeding. The number of weapons sticking out of his limbs increased. He grunted in pain, focusing on the girl again. This was too much of a drag. inwardly, he vowed to strangle a certain blonde, whiskered girl when all this troublesome mess ended.

She was smirking and twirling another kunai in her hand.

"Give up. I know about your shadow catching jutsu. You won't be able to catch me. My speed is greater then yours. Plus you will be busy dodging to try anything."

A shadow outstretched from Shikamaru's feet and flew to her. Tenten jumped up, avoiding it and threw several kunai with dead accuracy. The boy was forced to let go of the jutsu and jump back.

"Looks like a cat and mouse chase. When one of them makes a mistake, the match will end. If they don't, it will just come down to who has more stamina and chakra", muttered Kakashi, hand on his masked jaw. Naruto pouted. This match was exciting to watch but boring at the same time. Only Shika could be epically cool and boring at the same time. talk about weird.

There was no one to point out that she herself was weird as well.

* * *

><p>Tenten unsealed about a dozen shuriken and keeping each in a finger, aimed them at the boy. Shikamaru's eyes widened. Quickly scooping up any weapon he found on the ground, he threw them to counter the attack. Both parties's watched their thrown objects clash and emit a few sparks before flying in different directions.<p>

The girl scowled and her hands reached behind her back, grabbing the last scroll. This was her last chance.

She didn't notice her opponent smirk. His team and a few others, however, did.

Asuma smiled and puffed out a cloud of smoke. Kurenai pursed her lips.

Up in the balcony, Naruto smirked as well. Soon it will time for the checkmate. She nearly drooled. Shikamaru Nara was a very dangerous opponent when he wanted to be. The few spars with him she had in the academy where enough to tell her that. And of course the fact that she always lost to him in Shougi and Go.

A few feet across them Temari smirked as well, looking down approvingly.

"That girl is too cocky. It will come back to bite her."

The sudden change in his demeanor worried Tenten for a second, but she let it pass as nervousness. She needed to finish this soon. Her chakra was running low and so where her scrolls.

Her hands brought out the last scroll, opening it in the process. Chakra strings where coating her fingers, each attached to a weapon. He made to lung them with all her might, but found herself frozen. She couldn't even move even a finger. Her eyes widened as she tried desperately to break away from the bounds. But there was no shadow in front of her. Her feet where free, so how..

"Kagemane no justu, success!"

"H..how!"

Shikamaru tightened his fingers in the rat hand seal. The girl was strong. If he wavered she would be able to break free.

"The kunai. Being stuck in the ground blade first instead of just lying there, they give off shadows as well. You forgot about them and watched out for direct approach by the shadow bind"

Cursing, the girl rolled her eyes to the left, staring from the corner of her eyes at the shadow attached to her feet from the back.

"I stuck and reinforced my shadow with the small ones the fallen weapons. The floor was so full of them that you didn't notice", the boy continued, sweating a bit. She sure had some strength.

"Check." He smirked again.

"You have caught me, yes, but how will you defeat me in this case? Are movements are connected.", spat Tenten. She knew she had already lost but her kunoichi pride was getting in the way. She was told this Shikamaru Nara was second to the dead last of their year and often skived off lessons.

The boy just raised his arms in answer. She mirrored. The weapons attached to her fingers with chakra sprang in life as well.

Naruto gulped in anticipation. She watched Shikamaru drag his right hand back, making a grabbing motion. Opposite him, Tenten dragged her hand back, pulling the chakra strings along with her. Her fingers clutched around a kunai. Her eyes went wide with understanding.

Gai was nearly in tears by now.

Shikamaru just pulled his right arm up and bended it to his neck, fingers still half curled up. Tentn followed. The small metal ring at the end of her kunai touched her neck, right at the place where the skull connected with the spine cord. She closed her eyes, already knowing what was going to happen. She could have ended in a worse situation. After all, for all she knew, she could have ended up fighting one of the gennin from Suna. And since their brother finished his opponent so coldheartedly..

Shikamaru brought the curled hand back a bit and made a ramming notion right into the back of his skull, without touching it.

Tenten's own right hand followed the counterpart and rammed the butt of the kunai in her won neck, effectively pressing a pressure point. She was unconscious on the floor seconds later.

"Mate.", muttered Shikamaru and let go of the shadow bind. He dropped to his knees and wiped his forehead. She was a strong kunoichi, and extremely troublesome.

"Winner: Shikamaru Nara"

Gai jumped down to scoop up Tenten. Lee was accompanying him.

"Nara-san, you are a strong opponent. Your flames of youth shine very brightly!"

His eyes where serious and didn't carry the usual foolishness when he said things about youth.

Shikamaru read the subtle message hidden within. Lee was thanking him for not hurting her to much and fighting fair.

He nodded and slowly went to the stairs.

When he joined his team, he was glomped by Ino, who had apparently woken up. Chouji gave him a high five and offered a chip. He had no time to think of where he got them, because a certain other blonde was skipping towards them, a huge grin on her face and eyes curled up in upside down U's. He groaned, realizing her whole team followed behind her.

He sweatdropped.

Life was such a drag. Maybe this was a chance to kill the blonde and be over with it? His musings however didn't go anywhere as he was hit on the back by said blonde and was awarded a toothy grin. He cracked a smile when she said that he made the drop-outs look cool.

* * *

><p><em>"Tsuki Kin vs Inuzuka Kiba"<em>

Kiba growled out in joy that he was getting an easy fight. Akamaru however, disagreed. He whined a bit and snuggled into the fluffy jacked.

Kiba mock glared at him and jumped right off the railing to the arena, landing in a crouching position. His canines where poking out of his mouth, slitted eyes blazing with fire. The fur on his hood gave him a more feral appearance.

Akamaru jumed from the jacket and stood on fours beside his owner. Both where staring at the long haired Oto girl.

"I wonder what's Kiba going to do. I only sparred with him in taijutsu at the academy," wondered Naruto.

"Hn. He is from a clan. He will use his clan jutsu."

Sakura agreed with him.

"Ano sensei! What is Akamaru doing there?", whined the blonde, turning her blue eyes on the one eyed jounin. He looked down at the two figures below.

"All Inuzuka children have their partners. Akamaru is a nin dog", explain Kakashi.

Naruto nodded with an "O" formed with her lips.

"."

"Teme"

"Not now, shannaro!"

BANG!

Two gennin, nursing bumps on their heads, turned to the fight. The silver haired jounin ruffled their hair and sweatdropped subtly. Sakura could be scary when she wanted to be.

"Eh? What's up with Kiba? Its only a few senbon.." Naruto pointed down, where the Inuzuka, along with his dog where cowering on the floor. Kiba was shaking and trying to cover up his ears. Akamaru was in the same state. The poor puppy was close to urinating then and there.

Sasuke's eyes bled red.

"There are waves of chakra coming from the senbon..what's that sound?"

The tingling of the bells filled the arena. Kiba was about to drop dead.

"Genjutsu?", whispered Sakura. Her suspicions where correct. The girl, Kin had started explaining it to the perplexed Inuzuka.

"I never get why shinobi go and explain their jutsu to their opponents.. is it a way to humiliate them? They are giving away their secrets too, ttebayo."

"Mhum", hummed Kakashi. " didn't you do it yourself a few times as well?"

That shut the blonde up with a snap. She glared at Sasuke, who was smirking. Sakura ignored them both and stared at the fight. After all, she was studying genjutsu, she wanted to know more about him.

"I wont give up like this!" screamed Kiba and pushed chakra out in a blast. It dissolved the chakra waves forming the melody. Digging into his ponch, he pulled out two red pills and gulped one, throwing the other at Akamaru. The puppy caught it and swallowed.

"What did they eat?", questioned Naruto.

"Pills. They enhace speed stamina. There are several types of them, like blood pills, food pills. The Akimichi clan provides them.", complied Kakashi.

"Hontou?" Her gaze turned to the chubby gennin.

Tsuki Kin felt her eyes widen in disbelief and shock when her jutsu was dispersed into nothing by the sheep chakra and strength of the gennin.

He looked more feral now, kneeling low, close to the ground. Like a wolf that was about to attack.

"Akamaru!", he yelled, voice laced with hot anger.

The dog barked in understanding and disappeared in a poof of white smoke. A copy of Kiba appeared from it. Both crouched into taijutsu stances.

"That's a cool justu", muttered Naruto, wincing. She knew that Kiba's punches hurt a lot. He was second in taijutsu in the academy, losing only to Sasuke. And now, he was pissed. He was going to make the girl, Kin, pay for sure.

Back on the ground floor, both Kiba's disappeared in a flurry of white and attacked the girl. She had a kunai in her hand and was fending off.

The girl was keeping up with the speed. This surprised many, including Kurenai, Shino and Hinata.

Kiba just growled. His fangs and claws lengthened. Dropping a black ball at Kin's feet, he drifted back and sniffed.

A smirk appeared on his face as both he and Akamaru rushed to the smell, clawing and hitting at barely catchable speed.

All the groud saw was the black smoke and the sounds of hitting from within. It stopped soon.

The Inuzuka and his dog jumped back. Akamaru turned back to his original self, breathing hard.

Kiba was no different.

They heard laughter from behind them and turned abruptly.

Kin was standing there with a small smirk. It was another genjutsu. Kiba had wasted energy and chakra for nothing. This made a low growl emit from his throat. Akamaru wisely backed away.

A scream ripped through the Inuzuka's throat and he rushed at the girl blindly, no longer thinking of the exam or becoming chuunin. Only one thing flew through his mind. Defeat the bitch.

She wasn't expecting sudden strength, that was why she could only watch as the fist connected with her stomach, sending her crashing to the wall. Blood sprouted from her lips as she slid down the wall and staggered, standing up. A smirk was currently adoring her face.

Kiba started forming hand seals rapidly.

Back at the balcony, Shino tensed and Kurenai's eyes widened.

He was going to use _that._

"Gatsuga!"

He jumped and started spinning. The speed of the twirls increased per millisecond. Soon he resembled something like a blue/gray drill that sped off towards the girl.

He crashed to the wall right beside the frozen girl.

The bits of metal flew around in different directions, the good percentage of them landing on the Oto nin with audible THUNK's.

Kiba jumped back, legs shaking and vision blurred just in time to see the girl drop on the floor, blood still oozing from her parted lips. Kiba dropped out cold on the floor at the same time her eyes fluttered close.

Silence followed.

"Both contestants lost. There is no winner in this match.", concluded Hayate with a cough and wrote something down in his notepad.

Kurenai, Hinata and Shino jumped to the arena.

"He will come back to his senses soon. Idiot. He wasn't ready to use that justu yet, not without mastering it yet", said the female jounin softly as she picked the boy up. Hinata sighed in relief and poked her fingers together. Shino stayed silent.

* * *

><p>"That was one intense battle…", breathed out Naruto, puffing out her cheeks in the process.<p>

"Inuzuka turned out to be strong. If he had stayed awake a minute longer, he would have won.", stated Sasuke, his obsidian eyes boring into the computer.

Names where flashing again in rapid speed.

"The arena is a mess. Half the floor and the walls are destroyed.", commented the pinkette, running a hand through her hair.

Kakashi put a hand on Naruto's shoulder, making her head turn and face him.

"You might want to take this.", he said, pulling out a scroll and unsealing twin beautiful long katanas. The sharp, thin blades were straight, without a curve. In awe, she balanced them on the floor, cerulean eyes sparking in joy and wonder.

They reached her chest. The rear was a shiho-zume-gitae. Very rare but much more effective then the commonly used wariba-gitae.

The guards where made out of light blue metal in the shape of spiraling strings. They formed a small half spiral across the hilts. The spaces where filled with common white strings, that also connected to the hilts. At the end of which, it gathered in flocks of hair, that cascaded down to reach the middle of the blade.

"Whoa..", she uttered, bemused. Sakura and Sasuke had the same reactions. There was slight jealousy in the young Uchiha's gaze that Kakashi's grey eye didn't miss. He will have to deal with him later.

"Sensei..", shidpered Naruto, confused and unsure.

"I took the liberty of going to Higarashi's to get them. You had ordered them about a month ago."

She nodded dumbly. "But I still had a week to go…and why would you go get them for me now?"

He put his hand on her head and whirled her around.

Her eyes stared at the computer, unblinking.

"_Sabaku no Temari vs Uzumaki Naruto"_

* * *

><p><strong>i really hope tenten, kiba and shika wherent too ooc here. seriously i tried to come up with god fights. hope they are ok.<strong>

**next time, the epic naru vs temari.**

**xDD**

**i know there is little romance during these chaps, but i promise a huge surprise a few chapters later. i ned the prelims to end for that. max they would take two more chapters.**

**i havent profread this so pardon for the mistakes.**

**check out my two oneshots for femnejinaru that i wrote too (shameless advertising much?)**

**review please :)**

**btw guys, should i change the rating to M just in case? **


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

"_Sabaku no Temari vs Uzumaki Naruto"_

Naruto felt blood rush rapidly inside her as her adrenaline accelerated. She smirked. Finally, it was her turn!

"Thanks, Kaka-sensei! I'll beat her Suna ass for sure, ttebayo!", she growled out silently, pumping her fist in the air. Beside her Sasuke who was still abashed at the presence of swords, smirked as if telling her not to lose. The blonde understood the Uchiha mimics and smirked back. She was defiantly not going to lose. After all, she had a few asses to kick. Like Sasuke's own, like Gaara's, like Neji's. His ass was the most important of all. She really wanted to kick it. She paused, horrified. Maybe she WAS obsessed with asses?

"Don't lose, Naruto!", egged on Sakura, smiling fondly at her teammate. This snapped the blonde from her daze. She gave a victory sign to the pinkette.

"Good luck, and don't overdo it."

"Sensei…you said that to all of us..", sweatdropped Naruto, turning to him as she attached the swords to her back with a white and blue sash, clasped together with a small dark blue Uzumaki spiral at her chest. With one last smug smile, she jumped down and landed on the arena the same way Kiba had done.

Temari was already there. She wasn't smiling. Her light chocolate eyes where narrowed and serious.

Naruto, feeling eyes on her, looked up and gave a smirk at Neji. He smiled back confidently.

"You seem to be a strong opponent, Uzumaki Naruto. I will not beat over the bush. I will finish this quickly.", she stated and lowered herself slightly, hand on the enormous black metal rectangular pole, which was strapped to her back.

Neji was watching her. She couldn't lose. Never!

Naruto lowered herself to her kenjutsu stance, eyes narrowing as well. This would be the first time wielding these swords, but she had trained with Kakashi. That training wasn't enough, she knew it. She had only mastered some of the basic kata. And they were done with a bokken shorter then her swords. She had planned from the start to have twin blades, that's why she had practiced with her both hands. At least she would be free of that handicap.

It seemed she would have to improvise. Plus she had made a promise to herself. She would come up with a cool technique during the battle like Sasuke-teme had. And she wasn't going to lose to him! He was her rival!

She would have to somehow wing it. Kakashi must have had a reason to give her the swords now. She felt that if this Temari girl hadn't been her opponent, she wouldn't have gotten them.

But it was no time to dwell on it. She needed to focus. Her hands twitched to grab the handles of her swords strapped to her back.

And she waited. She couldn't rush without a plan no matter how much her giddy nerves where telling her to.

Minutes passed and she snapped.

Deciding not to use the swords just yet, Naruto dashed at the older girl, her foot swinging to deliver a perfect roundhouse kick.

Temari hooked her hand around the black pole and whipped it open. Naruto gasped. It was an enormous fan with three purple circles etched in the middle.

Seals. They most probably represented the strength used for attacks.

Wait, all three where open.

And it was a giant fan.

Then it her. Wind this was the strongest attack. A clone sprang into existence as she propelled her right foot on it's back and flew up, away just as the girl swung the weapon and an enormous gust of wind erupted from it, speeding towards Naruto.

Said girl barely had time to cover her face up and bring her legs closer to her body, all the while thinking about the enigma that happened. How did she create a Kage Bunchin without a clone?

She repressed the urge to grunt in pain as small gutters of wind left cuts on her body. Luckily, only her limbs where caught in the attack as she had protected her front. This made her forget all the clone paradox.

So this was why Kakashi had given her the blades. After all, she had ordered them to be made out of special metal that allowed chakra to be channeled through it.

She grinned.

Wind vs. Wind then?

Doing a summersault in the air, she jumped a few feet away from where she originally stood and grinned, showing her canines. Cerulean eyes bore into cream ones with anticipation and determination. Her body was crouched low, hands outstretched. Fingers where already itching, her nerves on fire.

"This really is going to be fun, ttebayo!", she yelled. Temari glanced at her with a smirk.

"You took the hit to see the power of my attack and my fighting style as a whole. " It wasn't a question. And Naruto knew it. Her smirk got wider.

"Hm, so not all kunoichi gennin of Konoha are love struck idiots. I am going to enjoy this fight."

Her hands gripped the metal ends of her fan tightly. Naruto's hands slowly moved to the hilts of her swords. But the dirty blonde wouldn't let her. She knew that with her kamaitachi no jutsu, the blonde would never be able to get to close to her to actually use them. But Sabaku no Temari didn't take chances. The girl was trouble and she wouldn't let her use her weapons.

That was why she whirled her body around, taking the fan with her in a half circle. At the same time, Naruto whipped out her swords and ,praying to all Kami there for it to work, channeled wind chakra to the blades, body also spinning in a half circle. She could feel her chakra waver, not wanting to follow the orders. She screwed her eyes shut and focused. She hadn't finished the elemental training yet. She still had the second stage to do, but right now, she didn't care, she had to do this! After all, all it took was control.

_Make the wind obey you_. Her closed eyes relaxed as she clamed down her pounding heart and excited body. Her surroundings vanished as she felt her ears pick sounds beyond the tower, beyond the forest, beyond Konohagure no Sato. She heard the sweet song that the winds passed on to the clouds and trees. She felt like floating herself.

_Harness the power._

_Make the blades obey you._

She pictured the winds turn into razors that grided against each other, making the whole sharper and denser.

_Make the chaos move where you want it to._

The floating sensation vanished as her mind comprehended the situation. Those weren't clouds, and that wasn't wind. This was her chakra.

She focused on the flow of the gutters, directing them.

Her eyes snapped open and she released all the elemental chakra to the blades at the same time as Temari released another gust of cutting wind from the iron fan.

Both watched with wide eyes as the attacks clashed together. Temari's straight attack smashing into the swirling twin waves from Naruto's.

The blonde girl had to hold her hair in place with both hands and channel chakra to her feet in order not to be sucked into the small tornado flying above them now. Opposite her, she saw the Suna kunoichi doing the same. Even their expressions where eerie similar. It was unnerving.

Naruto really didn't expect such a reaction. Wind was a very powerful weapon, she concluded in inwardly. It was really cool. She loved it.

Somewhere at the back of her head a chibi Naruto was doing a small dance. After all, she was able to harness wind right in the battle. She knew it still wasn't good, but at least she could do something with it. And her blades..

She eyed them. They where incredible. And this was even without her idea involving summoning and seals.

She would have to thank Higarashi-jiji when she was done with the exams.

The whirlwind died above them. She shakily stood up, still gaping. Temari did the same. The fan was on her shoulder. She was staring at her with an unreadable look. But Naruto recognized the masked astonishment and slight pride.

"Another wind user..", she commented, staring straight into the blue eyes of her opponent.

Naruto stared right back, a smirk back on her whiskered face. She ran a finger under her nose and grunted noncommittally.

Seconds passed as they stood, eyeing each other. Then, simultaneously, they attacked again. Wind clashed with wind again with a weird screeching bang above their heads. But this time, while the tornado raged, Naruto didn't waver. Neither, it seemed, did Temari. Both rushed at each other, ignoring the raging war of wind blades above.

Naruto brought both of the swords up and twisted them in the air, slashing down, right at a growling Temari. The girl snapped her fan shut and blocked the double attack with the iron handle. Then she heaved it up and pushed the sun-kissed blonde back. Both redid the wind attacks again, huffing and puffing furiously. Naruto crouched low, avoiding the wind blades and slashed the sword in her right hand, sanding a blast of wind chakrain the shape of a twirling wave at it. Then she ducked an upcoming thrust from the end of the huge fan and swung the sword on her left hand, channeling wind chakra again. It the dirty blonde hadn't seen the attack coming and jumped back, away, her arm would have been cut off. A new blast of wind from said fan followed and Naruto jumped back, sliding on the floor with two feet trying to slow the speed along with her palm, which was pressed on the floor as well. The blade was positioned on the tip of her fingers, being held down by her thumb.

Naruto wiped the sweat from her forehead as she finally stopped. Dust rose around her. She raised her blonde spiky head, breathing hard. Sabaku no Temari was in a similar condition. She was leaning heavily on her fan.

When their eyes locked, a spark of electricity passed through them. Naruto could see it clearly. She wasn't going to lose. The Suna girl had some pride. But then again, so did Naruto. And she wasn't going to back away. In the end, it might even come to chakra capacities. Even though Temari's control was much better, Naruto wouldn't give up. Screw control.

Fighting with only futon would be fair. Plus, she really didn't know any other jutsu to use. Kage Bunshin…was an idea of course, but she didn't want to overwhelm her opponent with duplicates this time. It didn't seem fair. Naruto understood that the word 'fair' didn't exactly clash with being a ninja, as they used every single trick to deceive their opponents. But this wasn't war, nor a mission. This was an exam. Plus it was something she wanted to prove to herself. She wanted to fight one on one literally. No Kage Bunshin. It was like proving to herself that she wasn't too dependant on the jutsu.

And she didn't know any offensive fuuinjutsu. Then again, maybe she could seal off the chakra coated in the fan..it was a possibility. And she wouldn't even have to use advanced ones like the Sanke Fuin for example.

But then Temari would just pour more chakra into the blade. It would exhaust her. So it could be one of the ways. Or maybe there was a way to seal the function allowing the fan to channel wind chakra?

She couldn't be too sure. It was possible that fans where commonly used in Sunagakure. It was called the Land of Wind for a reason.

Before she even had the chance to muse more on the subject, Temari was already flying at her, holding the fan like a Bo staff.

_Chikusho!_, yelled Naruto in her mind and whipped both blades around once more. Wind blades clashed together once more, the two girls caught right in the middle of it. Naruto ignored the whipping of the razor sharp waves on her and moved her leg up in a summersault kick. It caught Temari's stomach and she was forced to fly back. The wind attacked them both. Naruto didn't stop and rushed foreword, right after strapping both blades on her back. Her fingers crawled into a fist as she brought it to the Suna kunoichi's face, marred with small cuts from the winds, just like hers.

She found her palm blocking the punch.

Her enormous fan was in her other hand and she was swinging it at Naruto. The latter, of course wouldn't let that happen as she, using the hand stopping her own as a solid point, heaved herself up and blocked the upcoming strike from the iron fan with her foot.

She felt like cheese.., sandwiched between two pieces of bread. Damn, she really needed to focus.

"You are weird. Then again we are all hungry here, but seriously? Cheese? In the middle of a battle?", asked an astounded Temari. One of her eyes was twitching.

Naruto had the decency to sweatdrop and look sheepish. She really needed to work on NOT expressing out loud what she thought.

That looked rather comical, regarding her current predicament.

She felt the fan being pressed tighter. Temari's whole body was shaking from the effort. Naruto wasn't giving up though, her foot wasn't going to break down. She needed this for her plan. The fan was right beside her.

Naruto freed her left hand, which had was beside her foot, trying to hold back the weapon.

In her mind, she prayed for the second time for her plan to work. She had figured that she was good in fuuinjutsu. And now, she was going to try to make a seal at whim. Make one, not change an already existing one. And she only had one hand to spare. Which meant one handed seals. They acted different then the normal hand seals.

She would have to wing it then. Oral fuinjutsu was difficult, but she had managed a few times. Why not try this time as well then?

She just needed to picture the problem firm in her mind and manipulate her chakra correctly, all the flows, all the divided chakra segments, the twirls of the flow that connected to hand seals.

Her left hand formed the half seal for 'Ne'. She guided the chakra inside her, choosing a small amount and diving it. She willed the smallest flow to form a spiral.

The fingers twisted to 'Tatsu'. She added another chakra string, this one, coated with her wind chakra. She slowly made it twist around the first one and reinforce the spiral with power.

'Saru'. Another string circled around the spiral and divided itself into several parts, flying around endlessly, not willing to settle down.

'Inu'. The strokes obeyed momentarily and settled in a perfect heptagone around the spiral, which seemed to be spinning.

Naruto willed her mind to calm down. Spinning wasn't good, she wasn't finished yet. Her whole body ached by now and she could tell by the slight numbness that she was slowly loosing feeling in her leg. Sweat rolled of her as she focused once more.

Slowly, the swirling subdued.

Hurriedly, Naruto formed the last half hand seal, Mi, for refining the seal as a whole. It was perfect as it also added introspective allure to the fuuin.

She felt her chakra boil inside. With all her power, she kicked off from the ground on her last standing leg and twisted in the air, still leaning on Temari's hand as a torch of some sort. Surprised, the girl let go and tried to back away, but before she could even move a step, Naruto slammed her left palm on the iron fan, screaming out a "Kaze Yoso Kyuko Fuin!" (**wind element absorption seal)**

The girl, seeing this, gripped the closed fan and kicked Naruto in the stomach, flinging her into the air from the force and making her hack some blood.

Naruto, wiping her mouth, got up on her shaking knees. There was a triumphant smirk plastered on her face. One that made her look slightly feral and dangerous. Temari inwardly gulped. It reminded her of how Gaara sometimes looked. She wouldn't have any of that!

"You are over!" she yelled and opened her fan to swing it around. Naruto just stood there, smiling as if it where a nice summer day and they where having a girly chat about nothing and everything at the same time.

Temari's eyes widened. Nothing happened when she channeled her chakra in the fan.

"W..what?", she stuttered, eyes wide id disbelief and fear.

"I sealed of the molecules in the iron and the paper itself that absorbed and channeled your wind chakra through", stated Naruto, still smiling.

There was silence above. Up on the balcony, someone whistled low. As if taking that a signal, Temari roared and rushed at Naruto. If she couldn't she couldn't use her wind attacks, she would just use her taijutsu. Plus her fan wasn't only for futon jutsu.

Naruto gripped the two handles and brought them up, revealing the swords.

They clashed with the fan once again. Naruto twisted her right foot and propelled from the ground, spinning in midair with the intention to deliver a crashing blow to the Suna kunoichi's head. Said kunoichi brought her head back, barely evading the attack. Freeing her right hand and the sword, Naruto lunged at Temari, twisting her body in the process. The girl brought her fan to block again. She succeeded.

But she had miscalculated, never expecting an attack coming at her from the other side. Naruto had lunged the sword in her right hand in a horizontal slashing motion right at her stomach.

The dirty blonde gasped as blood seeped from the straight open wound on her waist. It wasn't deep, for Naruto didn't have any intention to kill her. but it was enough to hinder her movement.

A hand going over her stomach, she jumped back and stared at the blonde whiskered girl with one open eye. The other was scrunched up in pain. Sweat dropped from her forehead to the ground. She groaned in pain. This was the first time she was injured so badly during a fight. And this was the first time she had such a touch opponent.

Her whole body shook in pain and tiredness. She really wanted a hot bath right now. But she wasn't going to give up. If this girl thought that she was free of wind attacks just because she sealed the ability in her fan, then she was mistaken. She brought her scratched and bloodied hands in front of her, forming seals.

Naruto's eyes widened as she gripped the swords. She didn't expect this. And it was foolish of her. She had seen her brother fight after all, they why did she assume that his sister wouldn't have some advanced attacks as well? She really was an idiot.

"Fuuton: Reppushou!", she shouted, bringing her palm up and wind blew from it in rapid speeds, racing right at the frozen jinchuuriki. She brought her arms in front of her face to shield herself, swords still in her hands.

She felt the win cutting her muscle tissues. She felt the warm liquid ooze from everywhere, her feet, her stomach, her forehead, her cheeks, her arms. The pain wasn't that strong though. Just small cuts, they could be dealt with, plus she had accelerated healing. A low growl escaped her lips as she jumped in the air and whirled around, focusing all her last chakra into the blades, fusing them and turning it into deadly sharp razors.

The attack was slightly different. The speed had doubled and the spiraling waves had razor sharp edges sprouting. Temari didn't even have the chance to cover herself. The attack hit head on.

Naruto breathed hard, struggling to stand up. Her feet where wobbly. She wondered if they had somehow been turned to rubber. But she needed to stand it out. Or else she would have the same fate as Kiba.

Blood dripped from her numerous wounds agonizingly slowly as she waited for the small hurricane of mixing winds to die down.

As they calmed down and dissolved into the air, the Suna girl revealed herself.

She was still standing. But barely as every single inch of her was covered in blood, much like Naruto.

They were close to exhaustion, both having wasted all the chakra. Naruto knew she had the other, red chakra in her, but she wouldn't use it unless it was a life and death situation. It would also be cheating. And one thing she had and was proud of since her birth, was her ninja pride (even when she was a toddler. But that didn't matter).

She was going to end this now. Strapping both blades to her back in the usual, crossed way, she ran at the girl, willing her jelly legs not to give away under her. She brought her hand back and sprinting in the air, delivered a blow to the girl's stomach. She flew a few feet away and landed on the floor with a SMACK!

Naruto waited a few minutes, breathing hard and gulping down air greedily, expecting the girl to wake up and continue the fight. But she didn't.

She heard noise around her, but it seemed like buzzing to her. She wanted to rub her ear but her hands felt too heavy.

Dimly, she noted Gekkou Hayate announcing that she was the winner. She knew that she was going to faint soon. Just as her legs where about to become cotton for real, she felt someone's arm around her waist, supporting her.

She could tell it was a boy. The smell was familiar. It calmed her down. she flet like she was in her personal heaven.

She closed her eyes and leaned on him, letting herself be carried. She felt his arms tighten around her and resisted to groan out in pain. The ground disappeared under her and reappeared a few seconds later. She felt a hand, another, slightly bigger one ruffle her hair. Another, much smaller hands where fuzzing on the spots which stung.

Voices where speaking around her. but she couldn't distinguish them.

Only one voice reminded her of _him….her Neji.._

She felt herself being laid on a cold surface. Her eyes closed as she calmed down, her brain slowly putting all the pieces together and the fog, slowly disappearing.

Minutes passed in daze. Finally, she willed her tired eyelids to open.

The face of Neji swam into view. It was so close to hers. She blushed deep red and tried to back away, only to hit her head on the wall.

"Itai!"

His hand was still on her waist.

"Maa, Naruto, calm down."

Kakashi was at her other side, hand on her spikes and the eye-smile present as always on his masked face. Beside him, Sakura was gliding her green clad hand over her wounds, a frown on her face , slowly sealing them shut. Sasuke stood behind them, hands in his pockets, smirking. His coal eyes however, held relief. He didn't even try to hide it.

She turned her head back to Neji, catching the lavender eyes with her own cerulean.

He was smiling softly at her.

"Congratulations, idiot.", he whispered. His voice, though laced with amusement didn't hide the slight worry and fear behind it.

Her heart swelled as she smiled, showing off a perfect pound of white teeth. She seemed to have completely forgotten his hand, which was still around her.

Tenten and Lee where standing beside Sasuke, both grinning, or at least the girl was. She had her hand over the green clad boy's mouth, preventing him from shouting. There was a slight glint in her eye that unnerved Naruto. That knowing look was freaking her out.

Gripping Kakashi's arm, and secretly wanting to get away from Neji before she did a Hinata and fainted, she slowly stood up.

Neji helped her from the other side. When she pushed him away, he frowned. The slight hurt in his eyes went unnoticed by the blonde.

She had her attention on the others, a small grin still on her face.

* * *

><p><strong>i was listening to Serj Tankian's Bari Aragil the whole 2 hours i was writing this. i was even singing it lol. damn..this was intense, i really wished it happened in real lol. <strong>

**i pictured everything in my minds eye. it seemd cool. hope you guys liked it.**

**right. a few explanations i guess. you all see naruto creating new jutsu in battles here. but thats how she/he was in cannon. he made the shuriken thing at the wave battle, he made the rasenshurikens on each finger in the fight as well. **

**this means that he had talent to do so. thats why my femnaru isnt well ooc . i hope im not making her too strong yet.**

**lastly,temari is no pushover. i thought it would be right to have naruto injured a lot. i mean there was no way in hell she would defeat her with one jutsu and not even have small cuts on her.**

**i like temari a lot, she is one of my fav chara's in naruto. i hope she wasnt ooc here. from what i have seen, she has pride in being a strong kunoichi, and fighting a strong girl would make her excited. plus she wouldnt lose, cos of her pride as well. she would go all out then surrender. **

**i wont post another chap today. 3 battles left. i will try to put all three in one chap.**

**the neji/narut hing. hehe, well, elts just say they will have a fight soon, which will result in...**

**spoiler alert.**

**not telling.**

**just wait and you will see.**

**:P**

**review and tell me what you guys think.**


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

The computer was flashing with names again. Everyone's attention focused on it. Naruto walked to the railing and placed her hands on it, looking down at the destruction. She had finally made Ino back off her. The platinum blonde kept staring at her like she was some kind of idol, and telling that she wanted to be cool and strong like that. It was a bit annoying, but at the same time, she liked it. It meant she helped someone again.

Unknown to her, Hinata's confidence was boosted by her fight, and Sakura had given a silent vow to herself to become a better kunoichi, one that will excel in her own areas.

"Sugoi..did me and Temari really do all this?", she waved her hand around at 'this'. The broken, shredded walls, the floor, everything was in a mess, like a tornado had been through. She sweatdropped at that, feeling foolish. Didn't they make an actual tornado here?

Beside her, Neji chuckled.

"Well, it was an impressive fight. Everyone was speechless. I think I heard Shikamaru-san saying something like 'I told you she was the most dangerous in team 7'", he supplied. Naruto's eyes bulged out and stared at him crossly.

"It's true. The proctors where amazed as well, especially when you created a seal in the battle. Morino Ibiki looked smug, and the Anko woman, she looked like she had swallowed a lemon."

Naruto looked over at the duo, they where arguing. And indeed, the man looked extremely smug. She felt like she was going to be interrogated once this was over. The snake woman scared her a bit though. She really didn't want getting the end of HER kunai!

"I like it when you start using your sense of humor, no matter how dulled it is", Naruto smirked playfully, watching him roll his eyes at her.

"Naruto!", Tenten called. The blonde turned around to face the brunette, who had detached herself from Lee and Gai..

"Great fight! I was so surprised when you pulled out those swords. Grandpa was making them all these weeks, and he never told me for who they where!"

Naruto laughed, rubbing the back of her head.

"Well, I will have to come to your shop again, to thank Higarashi jiji!"

"He loves that. And if he has a liking to the customer, he even gives them something additional, like sweets! The idea is ingenious, really, made me want to learn kenjutsu more thoroughly", Tenten grinned.

Naruto returned it fully, chest blossoming with pride.

Both turned back to watching the computer after the small exchange.

"So you are feeling better now?", asked Neji, eyeing her up and down with a critical eye. She squirmed under the gaze and nodded.

"Hai, ttebayo!"

Feeling eyes on her, she turned around. Gaara was glaring at her again. She glared right back. It was an exam. Was he doing this because he was protective of his sister? She wasn't sure, but the killing intent was potent, making her shiver again. Why the hell was it so familiar to her?

"Sabaku no Gaara..there is something strange about him.", stated Neji, eyes also on the redhead.

"I don't want you to fight him….", she whispered, much to his confusion and surprise.

"Now, now _lovebirds_, you will have time for chat later", said Kakashi, eye-smiling at the gennin who blushed and coughed. Naruto glared at the jounin, one eye twitching. The blush on her face not quite willing to leave yet.

"Neji!", boomed Gai, running over to them and giving the boy a one armed hug. "Let the flames of youth be with you!"

After prying the green arms from him with a slightly disgusted look, Neji, along with a chortling Naruto turned to look at the screen.

_"Hyuuga Hinata vs Hyuuga Neji"_

Naruto looked around to where Team 8 was. Kiba was reassuring his teammate while Shino just nodded , staying silent.

"Neji, don't lose. I wanna fight you in the finals, ttebayo!"

She got a smirk in return. Then he disappeared, to reappear in the arena. Hinata slowly walked up to him.

"This is going to be interesting", murmured Naruto, crossing her arms and leaning low on the railing. Kakashi grabbed her collar from the back and dragged her back.

"Your fight was interesting too", said Sakura, coming to stand beside her. Her emerald eyes swept over the now healed wounds. Seemingly satisfied, she looked at her other teammate.

"Hn. At least you didn't lose face dobe. I expected you to do something stupid..like farting for example and making the girl lose sense of smell."

Growling, Naruto aimed a punch at his head which he dodged, smirking arrogantly and tauntingly.

"Teme!", she screeched, but not wanting to start a fight, she ignored all her instincts, that where egging her on to kick the Uchiha's ass, and tuned off everything around her, focusing all the attention on the fight.

She had never seen two people of the same clan fight. Plus if both use juuken..

She shuddered, trying to get the mental pictures away from her mind.

On the ground, both pale eyed gennin had taken their stances, which where identical.

Lee gasped.

"But that's Neji's.."

"Yes, Lee, maybe because they are cousins" stated Tenten slowly with a 'duh' expression.

Naruto laughed.

Below them, both Hyuuga activated their Byakugan's and flew at each other. Palms glowed green and blue, strikes parred identically, fingers pressed, backs bended, hair flew with each strike and block.

It looked like a deadly dance.

"Whoa…", awed Naruto "if they weren't fighting, I would say they are dancing…"

Kakashi nodded in agreement.

"The Hyuuga clan are very traditional, from the times of Rikudou Sannin, they specialized in doing everything perfectly and elegantly. That included fighting as well. Hm, come to think of it, I think mating is in the category as we-"

SMACK!

Kurenai had swatted him on the head, ruby eyes glaring.

Team Kakashi just facepalmed at the idiocy of their sensei.

It so seemed that idiocy ran in all team 7 in the history of Konoha, and it always passed down.

* * *

><p>Neji smirked, parring another blow. Ankle to ankle, wrist to wrist. He focused chakra to his fingertips. Another punch, another block. His eyes narrowed as he closed a few tenketsu on her hands.<p>

Another blow from the right up to his chest. He bent low, avoiding it and at the same time attacking her unprotected stomach with a light juuken. She gasped and coughed some blood, backing away. His eyes narrowed. Any Hyuuga should have taken that blow easily. It wasn't the powerful juuken. She needed to train her body to endure such easy strikes and blows.

Neji strengthened his back and came foreword, grabbing her wrist and pulling the sleeve of her jacket down, exposing her arm.

Angry red spots marred her creamy skin. She cringed, realizing what it was.

"I blocked the tenketsu on both of your arms. You can no longer use juuken against me."

"It doesn't matter, Neji-nii, I wont give up!", she said, the stutter gone. Then she lashed out on him again, attacking furiously. Neji blocked all the attacks effortlessly. True, she had gotten stronger, but it was nowhere near his level. And he didn't want to attack her, he would only hurt her further, and he didn't want that, not anymore. Not since a certail blonde made him see. This only left one option- to seal off some of the main tenketsu on her stomach and wait till she gets exhausted. Closing every single one would be very risky and Hinata might die from the sudden loss of chakra. Choosing the first option, he proceeded to block another flurry of attacks.

Ten minutes later, the girl was breathing hard, her eyes droopy and body shaking. Soon, she collapsed in a heap of cream and blue. Seconds later Kurenai was there at her side, helping her up.

Neji gave her a small smile.

"You have grown stronger, Hinata-sama." Indeed she had, and he could see it. He was proud of his cousin. If her opponent hadn't been him, she would have won.

She returned the smile with a small one of her own, then closed her eyes in a blissful sleep. The Hyuuga boy ran a hand through his hair with a sigh as the proctor announced him the winner. He slowly went up the stairs to meet his team. Finally this was over, in a way.

Naruto got there first, standing at the top of the stairs, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet and showing him a victory sign. He rolled his eyes at her childishness. This was one part of her that he loved. It calmed him to know there was still suck innocence in their world.

"That was awesome Neji!", she exclaimed with a huge smile on her face and eyes sparkling.

He nodded, smirking. His team, with screams of youth came running to rose after them, making Naruto back away with a hand over her mouth and gives them space.

The blonde returned to her team, still smiling.

"Why are you so…clingy to him, dobe?", asked an annoyed Sasuke.

Naruto choked on her saliva and glared at him.

"I do not cling, teme. He is my friend. Why wouldn't I want to congratulate him., ttebayo!"

"I don't like the way he looks at you."

"Tch, its just your mind making things up"

"It's not dobe, but I won't explain it to you since you are so dense to see it!"

"Stop calling me that! And see what? There is nothing to see teme!"

"Ahou"

"Temeeee!"

"YOSH GAI SENSEI, I WILL SHOW MY YOUTHFULL POWER, LET THE FLAMES OF YOUTH SHINE BRIGHTLY!"

The quarreling gennin turned simultaneously at that yell, both still having traces of tick marks on their respective heads. . Lee was literally burning with that power. Gai was nodding proudly.

Neji and Tenten, however, looked worried. Furring her brows in curiosity and confusion, Naruto eyed the screen. What she saw made her gulp nervously.

"_Sabaku no Gaara vs Rock Lee"_

Lee jumped right into the arena, landing there in a crouched stance, hand outstretched in front on him. Garra used the Suna shiunshin and reappeared in wave of sand before Lee.

Said boy strengthened his back and placed his other hand behind it, making a fist. His right hand was still outstretched, bandaged flingers slightly bent in an angle, as though asking his opponent to attack.

Above them, Naruto gripped the railing nervously. Her gut feeling was telling her something bad will happen. And she didn't like that.

Beside her, Sasuke had tensed as well. A few feet away, Neji and Tenten had shared a silent look.

Naruto read it all too well. It was worry.

She heard a battle cry and turned to the battle. Lee had lashed out at the Sand gennin, and delivered a roundhouse kick.

It was blocked by a wall of sand.

Naruto gasped.

"That seems to be a protection. Its automatic, as if the san has it's own mind..", muttered Kakashi, his eye focused on the guard.

Naruto gulped.

Lee had attacked from a few corners, each attack was blocked. Then he had stopped for a second. All the while, Garra just stood there, arms crossed. This made Naruto narrow her eyes suspiciously. She really didn't want to know what would happen if he attacked.

Lee had increased his speed, his attacks finally landing hits. Gaara's eyes had widened in disbelief. This was changed to rage soon. He raised his arms. Sand rose around him. With a small quirk of his fingers, it attacked the green clad boy.

Naruto watched with wide eyes and bated breath as Lee ran around the stadium, avoiding the and trying to attack Gaara at the same time.

The sand was faster. Lee was flanged across on the wall a few times. Naruto was sure there was at least one rib broken by now. But he stood up, again and again, making the redhead growl in irritation and…bloodlust?

Naruto's cerulean eyes caught it. Even if it was for a second. The redhead's eyes had flashed black, pupil turning star shaped. It was then that it hit her. Her eyes had widened considerably. Lee had better just give up till he was killed.

Neji had notced the change in her and was by her in a flash.

"Lee…he has to yield, Neji!", she uttered, terrified for the boy.

The Hyuuga answered in a monotone. "He has too much pride. Even if it kills him, he will never give up.."

"Neji, you don't understand, Garra, he is like me!", she hissed, turning to glare at him. She watched his lavender eyes widen as well.

"And from what I see, he is losing control, ttebayo! if he even ever had it! I mean, I always felt the weird bloodlust from him! There must be something wrong with his seal.."

A crash from below made them both look down.

Lee was slowly getting up from a crater, legs shaking. But his eyes where still blazing with fire.

"Lee! I allow you to take them off!", yelled Gai.

Neji's eyes widened even more, and to Naruto's questioning gaze, he just beckoned her to watch. Lee was unbuckling weights from under his orange leg warmers.

"What change is that going to make?", asked Sakura. These weights couldn't weight much…right?

She, and many others where proven wrong when Lee dropped them on the ground, creating two quite big craters.

Kakashi had turned to Gai with a 'what the hell' look. The man just grinned proudly.

"Lee can't use chakra. That's why his taijutsu training was intensified. You haven't seen anything yet, my dearest rival."

The green-clad boy had truend into nothing but a green blur. Neji and Sasuke had their respective kekkei genkai activated in order to follow the unreal speed.

And miraculously, the attacks landed, knocking Gaara off his feet and bruising him.

"Lee..is kicking Gaara's ass, ttebayo", whispered Naruto in awe. He really was strong, but her gut feeling only intensified.

"Look, he is doing that lotus thing..he did to protect me in the forest!", yelled Sakura.

Naruto looked down to see Lee sprinting in a blur in a circle around the redhead. Then he disappeared, only to appear right in front of the boy and kick him in the chin , making him propel up.

"Fast…", murmured Naruto, wondering if she could ever be as fast as him with the use of her chakra weights. With a half glance at her teammates, she saw the same thought practically written over their faces.

Lee had appeared above Gaara, the unwound bandages going around the smaller boy and tying around him.

"Omote Renge!", he yelled, spinning them both in rapid circles so fast that the normal eye, even that of a shinobi wouldn't catch them.

They came down crashing on the ground, creating another crater. The air was full of splinters and dust.

There was an eerie silence that followed. Naruto narrowed her eyes. Something was wrong.

The dust cleared up to reveal Gaara, face cracked and Lee, standing up on his feet, scratched covering him from head to toe. He was having a hard time breathing.

A scream erupted from the redheads mouth and the cracks fell from his face, revealing skin underneath.

"He had coated his own skin in a layer of sand as well, " commented the copy nin.

Sand circled around him and few in strends at Lee, kicking him along the walls once more. The boy ran, eyes still blazing with fire.

"The lotus blossoms twice, Gaara-san!", he yelled and crossed his arms in front of him, closing his eyes.

Up in the stands, Gai paled.

"Gai, don't tell me you..", said Kakashi in small, disbelieving voice.

The jounin just nodded grimly.

"How many?"

"Five"

"He can open that many already?"

Naruto blinked. Seeing her sensei surprised wasn't something to see every day.

"What are you guys talking about, ttebayo!", demanded Naruto. Something was happening to Lee, and she wanted to know what.

"He is opening the gates.", explained Gai. "There are eight in all. When you activate all of them, you get powers more then a Kage. But it's extremely dangerous. Even opening the first one is. It can kill. The shinobi who can open all 8 can be counted on fingers."

"Wait, and Lee can already open 5? Sugoi..gejimayo is cool", she whispered, turning back to watch Lee, as a vortex swirled around him.

"He had already opened Kaimon, the first gate. That was why he could do the primary lotus. It accelerated his muscle power and usage from 20% to 11%. But seems it wasn't enough. He is at Tomon now, the gate of limit. The fifth gate."

"Gai-sensei, what does it do?", asked Sakura, eyes still peeled to the glowing Lee.

"You will see."

Naruto gulped down nervously and looked, just as Gai said, 'to see'. But Lee disappeared from her view.

"Where is he? I don't see him, ttebayo!", she whispered frantically. Beside her Neji was following each movement with his Byakugan. On her other side, Sasuke's Sharingan was spinning, mouth open slightly in awe.

"So fast..", he grunted, a bit of jealousy laced in the voice.

Naruto pouted. This wasn't fair. Well, if she didn't see Lee, it didn't mean she no longer Saw Gaara. And what she saw astounded her. He was getting punched and kicked seemingly by the air itself.

Then, he was in the air again.

"Ura Renge!", came a voice from the air itself as Gaara was bandaged once more. The resulting crash made Naruto place her hands over head ears and duck, as the flying projectiles soared right at the second floor.

A few minutes later, Lee was seen, huffing and puffing. His muscles were ripping through the green costume.

Sakura gasped.

"The..opening of the gates..does it always have such a toll on the body? I can even see it from here, all his leg and arm muscles are torn!", she said hysterically.

Gai just nodded with a deep frown.

The dust dispersed to reveal Gaara, lying on a makeshift rock of metal, eyes glazed over as though in deep thought.

"No blood….dattebayo", said Naruto, hand going over her mouth. Neji tensed. A wave of uncontrolled killing intent filled the whole chamber.

Naruto's eyes widened. The demon sealed inside was letting himself known.

"Get Lee out of there, get him out of there..", she repeated it like a mantra, holding her breath at the same time.

Sand whipped out and before Lee could do anything, enveloped his right arm and leg. The boy screamed as a crouching sound was heard. Blood sipped around the grains of the sand. With another burst of anger, the sand threw the boy away, smashing him against the wall. Then a wave appeared in front of the redhead, who was standing up, looking at the green gennin with maniacal eyes.

"Die!", he screamed and the wave rushed foreword.

The attack was halted by the proctors, and all the jounin-sensei's. Baku was standing behind Gaara, glaring at him.

"You have already won", stated Hayate.

A few tense minutes later, the Suna gennin reappeared beside his siblings along with their sensei.

Lee was taken to the hospital on a stretcher.

Gai had left, instructing Tenten and Neji to stay.

He never came back.

"Ka..kashi sensei…", asked Naruto fearfully.

The jounin had come back to them short after Lee was taken away. His face was grave. Even Sasuke paled.

"The medics said that he will not be able to be a shinobi from this day on.", said the copy nin, his voice dead.

Naruto's eyes burned. Sakura frowned. Tenten and Neji, who had heard, were both horrified. As them made to leave, Kakashi grabbed their collars.

"Gai told you to stay. There is only one match left, be patient, then you can go see your teammate."

Both nodded, though reluctantly. Neji was glaring at the floor. No one was really interested in the fight anymore.

Naruto placed a hand on Neji's shoulder, trying to comfort him. He placed his palm over hers, drinking in the energy she gave him. His eyes were closed.

One could say he was sleeping, but Naruto knew better, he was killing himself again, blaming.

"He…is my best friend. In a way, like you and Uchiha. Rivals and best friends. the team will be incomplete without him. I should have listened to you…"

"Stop it. You said yourself he wouldn't let that happen, Lee is strong. I don't thing something like that would make him back off. Listen. What if…we find Tsunade, the Slug Sannin? I am sure if anyone can heal him, it will be her, ttebayo", she said the last part a bit unsure. However, he turned around and gave her a small smile.

Chouji lost to Dosu, much to the disappointment of Asuma. But at least now, the preliminaries were over.

The winners each had pulled out papers with numbers written on them.

Gekkou Hayate then proceeded to show them a chart, showing who would verse who in the final round.

Naruto remembered smirking. And the fact that they where given a whole month to train was a plus. The fact that there would be a lot of people watching unnerved her a bit, but she ignored that. She would get to kick some ass for sure. But first things first, ask Kakashi to help her find a sensei, because there was no way she was letting Sasuke-teme fight Gaara without proper training! Then go talk to jiji. It was time to settle down some stuff, like Yondaime being her father and why wasn't she told. Her jiji was in for some hell.

* * *

><p><em> Naruto vs Hyuuga Neji.<em>

_2 Uchiha Sasuke vs Sabaku no Gaara _

_3 Aburame Shino vs Sabaku no Kankurou_

_4. Haruno Sakura vs Dosu Kinta_

_5 .Shikamaru Nara vs winner of the fourth match_

* * *

><p><strong>guys, i know this felt like a filler, and a bit rushed, but really i was tired of the prelims lol, <strong>

**dosu is gona die, so it's gona be shika vs saku in the end, this was just to clear things up. **

**the changes from cannon are already starting from next chap. the swords will be explained later on. stay tuned. and the romance will go faster.**

**i just dont want to rush it. but lets just say those who read the newest description will have a hint on what i am planning to do. **

**try to guess eh?**

**and sorry, wont be able to update several chap a day. heck i wasnt even able to update yesterday. sorry guys. know that even if i am late to update, i wont abandon this. i want to finish it myself.**

**oh, and sorry for mistakes, i hadnt reread this after typing.**

**review. they always motivate me (hint hint) ;)**


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

They where all gathered in the hospital, some waiting outside, some walking in the corridors, having nothing else to do and some beside the unconscious boy. Gai was staring at him with an unreadable look. Tenten and Neji where also there. The brunette girl was crying.

Naruto didn't enter. It was the privacy of Team 9. She knew Lee would pull through, she just had this feeling. Lee wasn't one to give up. He was like her in that way.

Smiling softly, she ran down the while corridor, only to smack in her sensei.

"Naruto, this is a hospital. No running in the corridors.", scolded the one eyed man, narrowing said eye at the blonde. She opened her mouth to protest but was cut off with a "and no raising your voice". She pouted and fell in step with Kakashi. Both of them where leaving the hospital.

"Sensei..", she started in a small voice. He held a hand and looked at her apologetically.

"I am sorry Naruto, I know what you are going to say, I can't train you for the finals all day long. I am training Sasuke"

Naruto stopped and gave him a wide smile, that turned serious seconds later.

"I know, I was going to ask you to train teme anyway. Gaara…he is dangerous, he..is like me sensei. I think he has a demon sealed inside him, and the seal is off too. I think there is something either sealed with the demon rather then the seal itself malufa-.."

She found Kakashi's gloved hand over her mouth.

"You get too carried away when it comes to seals", he eye smiled, staring at her indignant look amusedly.

Naruto huffed as Kakashi let her go.

"So he is a jinchuuriki as well..", mumbled the copy nin.

"Huh? Jinchuuriki? What's that?"

"Hm, Power of a Human Sacrifice. It's what the demon vessels are called", he mused, looking up at the sky as they walked out of the huge white building.

Naruto nodded. _Power of the Human Sacrifice.._

"How many ARE there in total, ttebayo?", she asked, unable to hold back her curiosity.

"Nine. But legend has it that long ago, they where all fused together and where known as the Ten Tailed beast, the holder being none other then the Rikkudou Sannin."

Naruto played with her lower lip, taking in the information. She really needed to get a book or a scroll that would tell her more about the first ninja and the creator of ninjutsu!

"I will be training Sasuke one on one. But at the end of each day, at 9 pm sharp, I want you to be near the river with the waterfall on training ground 7. I will send a Kage Bunshin to help you with your kenjutsu and answer any other questions you might have. As for the rest of your training…I have a small mission for you", he said looking at her with another eye-smile.

The girl nodded enthusiastically.

"Go to the hot springs on the west side of Konoha. There…you will find someone who can be your sensei."

Naruto narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"What do you mean…_can?"_, denuded the blonde, pointing a finger at him. Said jounin closed the finger and lowered his fist.

"No pointing, it's rude. And yes, if you manage to _convince _him to train you…mind you, he is much stronger then me"

The gennin still looked unsure. Kakashi sighed, going for the last resort.

"All right. How about this? Every Saturday of the upcoming 4 weeks, I will treat you, along with Sasuke and Sakura to dinner. The choice of the restaurant is on you"

There was a second of silence. Then her whiskered face broke into a grin and she lunged on her sensei, hugging him around the middle and screaming on top of her voice that she will get that guy, whoever he was as a sensei. The rest of the screaming was lost because of the laughter from the copy nin and the endless 'arigatou' and 'dattebayo' from his smallest student.

* * *

><p>Naruto nodded to herself as she made her way to the Hokage tower. She would go to the hot springs later. Now, she had more important stuff to deal with.<p>

As she walked, her mind went back to Neji. Where was he? What was he doing now? Will she even see him during this month? He had helped her out a lot during the exams, she really needed to thank him for everything..

Ignoring the nagging voice at the back of her head, saying that she missed him that was why she wanted to meet him, she reached the tower.

Time to get all the thoughts out and focus on one thing. Her eyes narrowed as she barged in.

* * *

><p>"Saru-jiji!", she growled out, banging the door open. The old man raised his head to look at her, one hand holding to the pipe.<p>

"Naruto."

She walked right up to him and sat down on the chair in front of the desk. Now that she was here, she didn't know where to start. Taking a deep breath, she opened her mouth.

"I…jiji, why didn't you tell me, ttebayo!", tears sprang from her eyes involutedly as she practically screamed the last part. Sarurtobi lowered his pipe and eyed the small girl in front of him.

"I…why didn't you ever tell me that Yondaime was my dad!", she demanded, puffy eyes glaring at her grandfather figure.

The Sandaime nearly gulped the smoke he was about to exhale. His eyes widened slightly in surprise. Naruto was shaking, her fist on the table, waiting for an answer.

"You weren't ready to handle the truth. And even now, you aren't. not yet. I didn't think you would understand his choice of action"

Naruto slumped on her chair and looked down, not meeting the warm brown eyes, that where full or regret.

"Why... Tell me please, jiji. I just want to know..if I were wanted…and loved..onegai..", she hiccupped, wiping her eyes at the same time.

Hiruzen just looked at her grimly, before turning his gaze to the pictures lined on the wall, namely, the last one.

"Naruto. You want to be Hokage right? Do you know what it means to be one?"

The blonde, not understanding where this was going nodded hesitantly and answered.

"Protect the village at all costs.."

"Close. Now tell me, if you where Hokage, and there was a Demon attacking Konoha, and the only way to save it was to seal it inside a baby, what would you do? As Hokage and as a parent."

Naruto thought for a while, Neji's words echoing in her mind at the same time. Her eyes widened.

"I wouldn't use any other kid, I would use my own.", she whispered. The Hokage nodded.

"I believe there where other reasons for Minato to act like that. I myself don't know what exactly happened that night."

At this, her spirits died down again. She really wanted, no….needed to know that.

"But, I can tell you something. But you have to promise not to go blabbing about your parentage just yet."

Naruto's eyes snapped back to the old man and she nodded, some of the happiness coming back to her.

"Jiji! I want everyone to recognize me for who I am, not for who my parents are. I had decided that in forest when Ne..er when I found out..", she finished lamely. Who was she kidding anyway? He was going to ask her where she found out eventually.

Sarutobi gave her an X-raying look.

Naruto gulped and rubbed the back of her head.

"Do you know about the legendary fight Senju Hashirama had with Uchiha Madara?", he finally asked, leaning back in his chair and taking a long drag from the pipe.

She nodded, scrunching her eyebrows in confusion.

"Well, this is a fact that is unknown to many. Uchiha Madara, with his Sharingan had the power to control the biiju. But Hashirama Senju also had the power to control biiju. He gained the Kyuubi no Kitsune during the fight. And his wife, in order to aid him, sealed it inside her, thus becoming the first jinchuuriki of the nine tails"

Naruto nodded, still not really getting what this had to do with her.

"His wife was from Uzushiogakure no Sato. The Uzumaki clan, that lived there was distantly related to the Senju clan of Konoha.", he paused.

Naruto's eyes widened.

"So I have a clan?", she whispered.

"Not anymore. It was an era of war after all, and Uzushio was feared among others. It was destroyed."

Naruto lowered her eyes.

Something didn't add up.

"The Uzumaki clan were feared for their fuuinjutsu. Which is why you have talent in it. You can even call it a blood trait. Also, the Uzumaki lived longer and healed faster then normal people as well."

Naruto's eyes went round. But before she could think about that, Sandaime was already continuing.

"The Shodaime Hokage's wife was Uzumaki Mito. As I have already told you, she was the first jinchuuriki for Kyuubi. Her seal was strong, but there was a time when the fox had nearly broken free. That was when Mito-sama was giving birth. When she had become old, a new vessel was needed, for she was dying. That was when Uzumaki Kushina was brought to the village.", he puffed smoke out and looked at Naruto.

"Kushina?"_ wait a minute..didn't Neji say that he saw that name scribbled in dad's notebook?_

The old man nodded.

"She became Kyuubi's second jinchuuriki. Years later, she married Namikaze Minato."

"She..was my okaa-san, right jiji?", questioned the blonde, trying to hold back tears once more. Her mother was brought in the village to be the holder of the fox..how fair was that?

_Why….why her.._

"Because she had strong chakra, which alone, even without the seal could hold down the Kyuubi and keep him at bay. I do not know how, but during childbirth, the fox was released. Your father had used the Shiku Fuujin to seal half of the fox inside him. The Hakke Fuuin was used to seal the rest inside you."

Naruto sat there, stunned for what seemed like hours, when in reality, only minutes had passed.

Sarutobi eyed the girl sadly, hoping that his decision to inform her was correct. His eyes gazed at the picture of the Fourth again.

Naruto was having an inner turmoil. This was too much. Maybe she really didn't need to know this now, it hurt too much, ttebayo.

Her mother being a demon holder as well…her parents sacrificing themselves for the village and her..

"Jiji…-hic- was..was she happy here?"

"Well, at first, when she found out about the reason she was brought here, she raged and cried. Until Mito talked to her. She was happy as far as I knew. Especially when she made friends. And Minato was always there for her of course..", he chuckled.

Naruto cleared her eyes with her knuckles and smiled a bit, looking at the man.

"Ne jiji, tell me more about her, about dad.."

"Not now, Naruto, maybe some time later. Now, I am waiting for an explanation."

He crossed his arms and pressed the tips of his fingers together, looking at her expectantly.

"Well, Neji figured it out and told me…ttebayo", she said uneasily, backing away from the calculating gaze.

"Neji? Hm….you and him have become good friends, am I correct?"

Naruto nodded, blushing a bit.

"Naruto, I know that living alone is difficult. I have a suggestion."

His tone said that it wasn't just a suggestion. More like an order.

"Living with someone will be much better, especially if it's someone you are close to. I will have it arranged for you to move in with Hyuuga Neji, as he is living alone as well."

Naruto fell of her chair, smacking her forehead on the floor in the process.

"NANI!"

* * *

><p><strong>sorry for th extremely short chap. im just going out today and wont have time to writ during the day, so expect chap in the evening as well. sorry for mistakes. ill correct whats wrong when i come back. ja ne im late!<strong>


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

Neji sighed in relief. Lee had finally woken up and even had the energy to scold them both for lazing around instead of training. At the sight of Tenten's tears he had declared that nothing will stop in his way of becoming a great ninja. This hade made his teammates smile and sensei hug his student in a waterfall of tears and a sunset genjutsu.

Good old Lee.

It was really nice seeing him the same. He really hoped something could be done about his condition. He had asked a few medics, and all of them said its hopeless..unless…

Unless Tsunade came. They had repeated what Naruto had told him. He was beginning to hope for the better.

Without Rock Lee, Team Gai wouldn't be what they are now. Tenten refused to believe that's Lee would be forever doomed. No. and Neji agreed with her wholeheartedly.

They had even discussed his own training, Lee screaming about his flames of youth. It was decided that Tenten would help him practice his Juuken, and Gai would spar with him daily, instructing and helping him on different points.

But at first, he would have to ask Hiashi-sama for help as well.

This was why he was slowly making his way to the compound. Reaching the gates, he entered and went in the direction of the main house, located in the center, near a garden. Hinata tended to it, sometimes accompanied by her sister. It was beautiful. His feet stopped for a second as he started at the variety of flowers and colors. Among the pink, red, yellow and violet, there was only one single blue flower.

_Blue…like her eyes.._

"Neji?"

The boy jumped slightly and looked around. Hyuuga Hiashi was standing right in front of him in all his glory, eyebrows raised and arms crossed across his chest.

Neji composed his face in a perfect pokerface.

"Uncle."

His white eyes where staring at him intently.

"You where headed this way.", stated the clan head.

The younger boy nodded.

"I was looking for you, uncle. I wish to be stronger. Will you train me for the exams?"

He really hoped that wasn't too brash or rushed. He was used to expressing what he wanted in front of Hiashi without batting an eyelash, always straightforward. He just hoped that this time it won't be against him as usual.

"Very well. But my training is going to be very harsh. Are you ready for that?"

Neji nodded, making sure to let some of his feelings seep into his facial expression. Hiashi liked reading people. Well, he would show him what he wanted to see then. After all, he wasn't lying. He needed this training.

"We shall start tomorrow then. Make sure to finish everything before 8 pm. After that hour until midnight we shall train."

"Hai, Hiashi-sama."

Inside he wanted to skip a dance like a certain blonde would have done. He smiled, thinking of her. She was such an idiot sometimes.

_Wait..what the hell?_

Why was he thinking of her…again?

Certain moments from the past flashed in his mind, like on a replay button. The kiss, their meeting, the hotspring, the hugs..

"Something is bothering you, boy."

This time he really jumped. In his daze he had forgotten about the older man completely.

"Uh…"

For the first time in his life, he could look in his eyes. He had no explanation.

This of course, didn't go unnoticed by Hiashi. His eyes narrowed.

"Sit Neji.", he barked out, settling on the soft grass in the typical meditating mode. The boy followed his lead and sat cross legged, still not making eye contact with his uncle.

There was no need to rush, and Hiashi knew this better then anyone. His nephew was too much like his brother. Hizashi had been secretive and had always kept things bottled up. But there always came a time when he simply needed to let it go, or else he would blow up from the overload of emotions. But he never came to talk openly. And Hiashi remembered how long it took. Their father had always patiently waited for Hizashi to open up. There was no need to make him talk. Eventually he would do it himself.

Hiashi recognized the symptoms. The training was simply an excuse, no matter how important. It was still an excuse. And the reason why Neji wanted to talk to him was going to be exposed soon. He would only have to wait. After all, it must be a personal matter.

He wasn't disappointed. About ten minutes later, his nephew started speaking.

"I..just don't understand it uncle. Every time I see her, my heart keeps attacking me from the inside, and I am happy for some weird reason. And the few accidents…I can't control myself, I always want more. Is it a disease? I need a cure, its affecting me badly. I can't sleep. When I am not focused on missions or the exam, I always think of her. And I want to help her. Is it because she helped me? It has to be that. What else can it be? We are friends. She considers me a friend and is closer to Uchiha then me. I lose every control I have, I lose my Hyuuga dignity…hell I even became a pervert! Uncle..i need some serious help. I need to be able to focus, I need an antidote.."

His voice was rushed and his tone changed from extremely low to unnaturally high, turning into a nearly hysterical and desperate yell in the end. Hiashi sighed. Truly, he didn't expect_ this_ of all that could have been. Hizashi should have been sitting here and explaining these things to him. But, as his uncle, he would do it as well. It was no time to dwell on the past.

"Neji, you are in love with Uzumaki Naruto.", he stated bluntly and closed his eyes. He had never seen his emotionless, calm and collected nephew so lost, and in a way, he was enjoying himself. Besides, the boy was finally opening up. This was good.

And the fact that the girl was Uzumaki Naruto was even better. He resisted the urge to smirk. Seemed like Minato and Hizashi knew the game they where playing at.

Neji choked, eyes widening.

"No, no I cant be..", he mumbled, staring at the grass but not really seeing it.

"Neji…don't deny it. I understand why you want to do so. And the answer is simple. When the person who showed you love, my brother, died, you closed yourself to that emotion unconsciously. You are afraid to lose someone again if you let yourself love them. You are afraid Naruto-san will disappear as well.", he said sadly, opening his eyes and glancing at the boy.

He was shaking his head slowly, processing everything.

"I am sorry for that. But you need to understand that Hizashi wanted you to be free. Didn't he say so in his letter? That included feelings as well. He hoped you will find someone to love again, someone who will love you back"

Neji nodded slowly, still not tearing his gaze from the grass. He had gone numb, oblivious to his surroundings, oblivious to the man sitting beside him. Only his voice entered the sacred territory his mind had created.

_So..this isn't a disease.._

_I love her?_

_I want her.._

He gulped and shook his head, getting rid of the image of her full pink lips. He was disrespecting her again with such dirty thoughts.

"You deserve pure, unconditional love, Neji. And while you quiver, someone else might snatch her right under your nose. Then you will be forced to watch her happiness with another."

This reminded him so much of what Shino had said in the forest.

_Watching a flower from a distance..or snatching it myself…_

_I really am in denial._

"Uncle..she sees me only as a friend."

"You might want to ask her first. Besides, you have no choice in the matter". The last part was said under his breath, but Neji caught it. His eyes narrowed. What was Hiashi-sama talking about?

Suddenly, he felt the man grab his arm. Chakra swam around them as they disappeared in a shiunshin, appearing right in front of the Hokage Tower.

Hiashi let go of him.

"We have something to discuss with the Sandaime", explained the Hyuuga head as he made his way towards the entrance. Neji followed, all the while thinking of what it could be and why was he needed. And what, WHAT exactly did his uncle mean by that?

As they neared the entrance to the main room, a scream echoed through the halls.

"NANI!"

"Naruto", Neji breathed out and ran to the door, opening it with a bang. Two faces turned to him. One curious and slightly amused face of the old Hokage, and one ashen, tear stroked whiskered face of Naruto, who was currently on the floor, rubbing her head.

"What the hell are you doing here, Neji-baka, ttebayo!", she screamed, pointing at him. There was something…in her eyes. Surprise, but not at his presence…

"Ah, Hyuuga Neji and Hiashi as well. You came right in time. I had just told Naruto about the new living arrangements, if you agree of course, Hiashi."

Said man started at the Hokage and nodded a few minutes later.

"It will get them accustomed. And it will benefit both of them, of course."

"What..is going on", voiced Neji, looking from one man to the other in confusion and suspicion. From what it looked like, Naruto was no longer going to live alone. But with who then? He felt his blood boil as the picture of a smirking Uchiha crossed his mind.

"From this day on, Naruto will move in with you. It will be beneficial for both of you. Living alone is never good for a child, and since the two of you are such good friends, what better choice is there but to live together", said Sarutobi, taking a swing from his pipe. Naruto paled further on the floor, cerulean eyes widening considerably.

Neji nearly lost his composure and turned to his uncle with a twitching eye.

"It is for the best", the man assured both teens.

Neji tried to ignore the weird warmth spreading in his stomach and chest. Naruto living with him? That's didn't seem such a bad id…wait..

What the hell was thinking again?

Was he really turning into a pervert?

He shook his head, trying to prevent the small smile from appearing on his face. He was a Hyuuga after all. He needed an image to keep, especially with the clan head there as well.

Said blonde was slowly getting up to her feet.

"Don't you two have training? Naruto, I expect you to move all your things today"

"Hai, jiji", she mumbled in a dead voice, making Neji's heart sink and the good mood disappear momentarily. He narrowed his eyes.

"You are dismissed", ordered the Hokage in a voice that screamed 'leave now, I have matters t attend to'.

They bowed and left, leaving the Hyuuga clan head with the Hokage.

Neither gennin spoke. Neji couldn't even look at her, afraid that that simple act would show him more that he wanted to see.

Like the fact that she might hate him now.

"Wasn't this a bit too soon, Sarutobi?"

They had forgotten to put up a barrier. Involutedly, both Naruto and Neji stilled, listening. After all, this concerned them. They had every right to know.

"No. they need to get used to living with each other. This will make their marriage much easier."

"An arranged marriage. Kushina was against it. But Minato and Hizashi had already agreed and the pact was sealed in blood. It's their destiny to get married once Naruto turns 16."

All the color drained from his face. What?

Slowly, he turned to look at her. She was clutching the hem of her (well, technically his) shirt, whole body shaking. There was no trace of a tear. This meant one thing.

She was pissed.

* * *

><p>But Hyuuga Neji was wrong. Naruto wasn't<em> just<em> pissed. She was _royally_ pissed.

And here she had thought the day just couldn't get any worse. But no, she just had to find out that her father had arranged all her future! First sealing the Kyuubi in her, then choosing her future husband..

What the hell did he think? That she wouldn't be able to choose herself?

She felt violated and controlled. Sure, she had understood all the sealing part, but this? This was too much! didn't she deserve to choose herself?

Her foot caught a stray rock on the ground and she fell, face first on the ground. Leaning on her knees, she slowly got up, wiping under her nose with the back of her hand at the same time.

It wasn't fair, ttebayo! so what if the one she was supposed to marry was the one she loved? Still, the fact that she wasn't given a choice..

Like a caged bird..

She snorted as angry tears made their appearance on her face one more time.

Only minutes ago she and Neji had heard the conversation. To say it shocked her to the core would be an understatement.

And he was there, right beside her, not even looking at her.

Didn't this mean that he was angry as well? It was enough proof for her that he hated the new living arrangements and the whole arranged marriage.

And he hated her. She was sure of it. Besides, she wouldn't want him to screw his whole life because of her.

That was why she had bolted from there, before he even realized.

And because of her uncontrolled running she had bumped on several people on her way. She didn't even stop to apologize. All she wanted was to run. Where, she didn't know.

She didn't even know why she was running away.

Maybe it was instinct?

She stood up and bolted again, feeling his chakra signature increase. He was coming after her, wasn't he? She needed to get away.

Using all her speed she could at that moment, she bolted to the nearest street, which was deserted. This place was close to the academy, walls where surrounded with wooden fences.

She breathed a small sigh of relief, leaning on the edge of the creamy wooden fence.

Her hand was grabbed and harshly yanked. Her heart stopped beating for a second. She looked up, tearful cerulean clashing with light amethyst again. He was towering over her, glaring accusingly.

"Does the idea of living with me, or marrying me disgust you so much, Uzumaki?", he growled out, applying pressure to his grip on her arm. She nearly gasped in pain.

"Why are you here Neji!"

This was ignored.

"Did it even come to you that I might like you? And that's I like the whole mess we are in?"

Naruto started hitting his chest with her other hand, not really hurting him.

"You, stop it! All the things you said, all the hugs, the kiss…I hate it!" She burst into tears and pulled both arms down, making him release her.

Blazing icy blue eyed narrowed at him, not really taking in the shocked and openly hurt look.

"Stop playing with me! It hurts Neji! Especially when I know you aren't serious! You have a whole freaking fanclub after you! I mean, why would you even bother looking at me? I am only just an annoyance, maybe Sasuke-teme was right, I am clingy, ttebayo! just..if you don't mean them, stop then. I don't know if I can take that anymore! All the time I thought I could handle it, but now I know, I can't! Kami knows I can't!"

Her strength left her as se collapsed on her knees, one hand over her nose and one eye, hiccupping. She wanted him to leave. She looked pathetic now. So weak. An utter idiot. She couldn't believe she had said those things, but today…was too much. all the news was too much for her. and she just couldn't take it anymore. She had to let some of it leak out, to be able to cope later on. Her glass of emotions had finally overflowed.

She saw him kneel beside her and place a hand over hers. The one that was over her face.

"Besides, I am jinchuuriki. Demon holder. Who in their right mind would want me? I am only a burden. And I would make your life hell, dattebayo..and I am not even pretty, there are far more attractive girls here, tha..that are smarter, and better kunoichi…and aren't moste-.."

SLAP!

Her eyes widened in disbelief as she placed a trembling hand over the angry bruise staining her whiskered cheek.

_Whaa…_

Then she felt him hug her close to his chest, tucking her head under his chin.

"Idiot! If I even hear you call yourself a monster one more time…didn't I tell you the kunai and the scroll are different?"

For emphasis, he placed his hand on her stomach.

Naruto hiccupped, her mind still unfocused. What was he doing?

"I don't care for other girls. And I am not playing with you, Naruto. I should have told you sooner, but Hiashi explained it to me only now, minutes ago. I used to think it was a disease, but now, I know. I love you. And I am never letting you go. I am not giving you to anyone, especially Uchiha. I am not going to deny it any longer."

Then pulled her away and placing his right hand on her chin, lifted it up. Disbelieving, scared baby blue eyes started up at him.

The temptation was too strong this time. And he no longer had any reason to make up excuses. He embraced the opportunity, crashing his lips on hers forcefully, trying to put all his emotions, all the uncertainty he felt before and all the love he had in it. He hoped at least this would make her see..

Naruto's eyes fluttered close at the contact, warmth rushing through her veins and making all the fear, all the sudden hate, every negative feeling evaporate, leaving only the pleasant fire roaring to life.

_Coffee and Vanilla.._

She smiled into the kiss, her mind finally piecing every word he said in a plausible line. She really didn't dare believe it. Was this a genjutsu? It couldn't be right..RIGHT?

But here it was, the proof.

Neji was kissing her, and with a passion she didn't know he had.

They broke apart, lips still inches away. Naruto was panting, her cheeks heated up.

"You…mean it, ttebayo?", she asked in a small voice.

He nodded and gave her a smile.

"Besides, I rather like the fact that you will be living with me. At least I will know if a certain Uchiha decides to visit", he growled out.

Naruto glared playfully, hitting his arm then getting up. All her energy was back. Weird.

"Weird…I kind of feel energetic after the kiss", she said, her hand going to her lower lip as usual.

"Its and antidote for the disease", said Neji in a serious voice. They both looked at each other and laughed.

* * *

><p><strong>hehehe, many where waiting for this. <strong>

**anyway, next chap will be training. expect some fluffy things more from now on.**

**review please!**

**btw, before you say they where ooc here, think of everything that happened between them. i think this is a normal reaction from both. plus, i can see neji reacting like that. after all, when people are in love, they act 180 degrees diff.**

**anyways lol, sorry for another shortish chap i guess. but yeah well at least i had fun with my friend. xD its only a few days till the international woman day here (march 8) and we went to an expo regarding it. it was cool.**


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

Felling foolish, Naruto walked along the wooden pillars to the hot springs. Who was she even supposed to be looking for? This was very weird. Her sensei was so going to get his ass kicked if this was a joke.

She shrugged her shoulders and looked around. There was a lot of giggling coming from the right. This made a shiver run up her spine for some reason.

It was only giggling. What was wrong with her? Wasn't it normal for women to gossip, talk and laugh in places like this?

Yes, it was.

Unless the giggle was very Kakashi-ish.

Narrowing her eyes, she creped towards the noise.

A low growl came from the back of her throat as she watched the scene unfold in front of her very eyes.

A man with long spiky white hair was peeping on the bathing women and giggling. There was a small notebook beside him.

_Damn pervert, ttebayo! Well, he is going to get it. _

She smirked and formed the ram sigh, disappearing in a poof of smoke.

* * *

><p>Jiraya knew this day wasn't going to bode anything good. First, that brat Kakashi had tipped him off about the other blonde brat. True he needed to start teaching his goddaughter, but he had research to do! And he came back to Konoha because of the whole Orochimaru matter. And that snake bastard just didn't have any<em> other <em>time to start his evil plans! Why was his research always swatted? He had agreed, but only under the condition if the blonde gaki could amaze him. He knew that smirk (even hidden by the mask) wasn't the best omen.

The day went worse when he visited his sensei. That old coot had thrown bomb after bomb on him.

The planned attack of Suna and Oto with that snake bastard as the leader and the small, incredibly _small _fact that the only daughter of his prized student was off to live with her fiancé!

She was only 13 for kami's sake. Hm, he would have to take her away as soon as possible, before that Hyuuga boy could land a finger on her.

He was expecting the girl tomorrow, which was why he, in need of serious relaxation, had gone to the hot springs. What better place then to relax and do some research? So many beautiful bodies…

But he knew it was all too good to last.

The weird poof of smoke should have been the first indication. But he had assumed it was just a random noise that children made when they played ninja these days.

He had turned around to tell off the kids for playing around and making him lose control of his precious research, when he was met with a very…very angry blonde. She had a tower wrapped around her lean figure with her arms crossed under the chest. He was about to drool when the scowl and icy blue glare caught him off guard. There was something familiar about her..

Blue eyes narrowed further at him, sending sparks. Her golden hair flew behind her in nine waves, making her look scarier.

"Hentai teme! You are so gona get it for peeking, dattebayo!", she screamed, alerting not even the women meters away, but also ones that where miles away.

All the noise stopped inside the onsen. Minutes later, the air was filled with enraged screams. A horde of half naked women where emitting a dark aura, which made him gulp, paling visibly.

A poof of smoke echoed around him. He turned around to be greeted by the same blonde, only much smaller and much less endowed. She was dressed in what looked like typical black Hyuuga male training clothes. She was grinning cheekily at him whisker marks rising up with the corners of her mouth, mischief sparkling in her cerulean eyes.

"You are dead, dattebayo," she mouthed at him with one last laugh, ran off.

"Pedophile! Trying to ruin a young girls innocence!", said one of the women, venom dripping from her mouth. She had pulled a kunai out of nowhere and licked it with her tongue, her sandy spiked brown hair flying with some energy. Her other hand was occupied with dango sticks.

For the second time in his whole life, after the incident with Tsunade, the almighty Jiraya of the Sannin screamed and ran for his dear old life, quite literally.

Somewhere in Tanzaku Gai, A bust blonde sneezed, making all the cards splatter in front of her for everyone to see. Naturally, the game was lost. With a lot of debt and a proud smile, she dragged Shizune and Tonton to the next unfortunate town.

Back in Konohagakure the white haired Sannin, however, would viciously deny it later on despite all the witnesses. That was a _manly _scream!

* * *

><p>Naruto was chortling on her way home. Damn, that was funny. At least she got her revenge on one pervert. One day, she would get Kakashi-sensei as well. And get a look under that mysterious mask of his again. Well, she will have to get Sasuke-teme and Sakura to work with her. it will be fun, ttebayo!<p>

She jumped on a rock and did a small twirl on it, all the while nibbling on her lower lip.

But she didn't get a sensei. Who was Kakashi telling her about?

And that man, he was familiar…

"There you are, gaki!"

She yelped and turned around, staring right into the face of the white haired pervert. He was glaring at her.

Damn.

How the hell did he even find her?

"Ehehe…", she laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head.

"You have some nerve! Do you even know who I am?" he asked indignantly. Not waiting for an answer he jumped back on his wooden sandals and did a weird dance, in the end summoning a toad as large as him.

"I am the gallant Jiraya, the most powerful and epic of the Densetsu no Sannin!"

"The Gama Sannin!", shrieked Naruto, forgetting about the man peeing on girls minutes ago. Her eyes where shining with stars.

"So are you the one Kaka-sensei was talking about?", she asked, hopping up and down eagerly. She couldn't believe it! The one who trained her dad..

He nodded, crossing his arms.

She yelled in joy and started to do a weird dance around the man.

"But I don't want to teach a snot nosed brat like you. You ruined my research!"

A sweatdrop rolled on the back of her forehead as she came to a stop, a virtual rock crashing on her. Her eye was twitching.

"Train me onegai!", she said with her best puppy eyes, holding her hands up together.

Minutes later the man gave in with a sigh.

"Right, right fine, I will. What I am going to teach you….well wait, first you need chakra control for that.."

"I did tree walking!"

"Hm, well, then we shall start with water walking then. Don't look at me like I am the only one to give you a napkin if you fall and bruise your leg on a rainy day. I didn't expect you today. Its already evening, so we'll start tomorrow. And one more thing, gaki, I haven't got all day, so we will set up a schedule. From 11 am till 6 pm, you train with me. Before and after that do whatever the hell you want."

Naruto nodded. It was good for her. After 6, she would do her own training, and at 9, it will be kenjutsu with Kakashi. In the morning and at night, she will do fuuinjutsu.

Perfect!

"Thanks ero-sennin!", she yelled, waving her hand. He turned to glare at her.

"Don't call me that, gaki! I am the most powerful Sannin and the famed author of Icha Icha! Have some respect, brat!", he yelled back, whit spiked locks swinging after him as he pointed at her.

"Wait a…Icha Icha? That perverted book sensei reads?"

Sensing danger, Jiraya fled, leaving her alone to fume.

Taking her anger out on a random innocent tree, she made a beeline to the library. It was finally time to get her hands on the advanced stuff. After all, she had some grand plans, ttebayo!

* * *

><p>Neji watched with a raised eyebrow how a dozen of black clad yellow haired girls carried boxes to his room, each one scowling.<p>

They had left them on the floor and dispersed.

Minutes later, the original entered, taking off her sandals with only her toes. Her face was blocked by the sheer hugeness of the 3 scrolls she was carrying. He hurried foreword and took them from her hands. There where two other small scrolls, a library book (quite old, as dust slowly dripped on the ground, like liquid) and a notebook clasped in her hand.

"I've been to the fuuinjutsu section again", she explained and toppled everything on the closest thing she found.

"Ne Neji..where am I going to put all this?", she asked, looking around. This was the living room, from what it seemed. There was a small TV in the middle, on a small desk. A sofa was across it. There was also a table in the middle, where all her scrolls where crumpled in. The boxes where around it in a mess, looking out of place on the carpeted floor.

Naruto looked around slightly uneasy. This was going to be awkward.

"Well, you can put them in the bedroom, I have a desk there, but I don't usually use it.", he said, looking away. Naruto deducted it was awkward for him as well.

Lifting one of the boxes, he motioned her to follow him. Making a clone and grabbing another, she followed him through a sliding door to the other room.

There was a carpet on the floor as well, the blue designs on the edges of white made her think of birds.

Hyuuga were obsessed with them.

It was a fact.

With a sweatdrop, she moved her bare feet across it, and resisting to giggle at the sweetness of the carpet, made her way to the bed.

It was settled by the wall. There was a desk right beside it. He opened a few drawers. Her eyes noticed a few pictures, what looked like a small letter and a few books. The next drawer contained scrolls, probably of the juuken and what Gai had given him. The next two were bare. He put all her small scrolls, notebooks and the library books in them. The three huge scrolls where simply too big, and they where leaned on the wall, beside the bed.

This made her brow fur. It was already late when she had gone to the hot springs and was nearing twilight when she reached the library.

It was almost time to sleep. And Neji was putting all her things close to the bed. What the hell?

He went to the closet and opened it. It was separated in two main parts. One of which was filled with white black and brown clothing.

"You can hang all your clothes in the right part. The rest, just put it wherever you like"

He still wasn't making eye contact.

"Ne Neji, gomen. I am only a burden to you", she started.

"He shook his head.

"Don't worry, this is why they put us to live together, we will get used to it, plus its only like the first day.."

Naruto nodded as well. She would have to be tidier. Neji Hyuuga was a neat freak, liking everything in order, in its rightful place, and most important, clean. And Naruto, she was a klutz, her room was always a mess, and she never really liked cleaning. Just her presence in his house was already a mess itself. Damn.

Her eyes snapped back to attention as he started unrolling a futon.

"You sleep on the bed. No arguments. I'll sleep here, besides, I'm used to it, you however, are not."  
>The blonde crossed her arms and glared at him.<p>

"Hell no! I am freeloading here and already making it hard for you, now this? I am taking the futon, ttebayo!"

"No. you are not."

"Yes, I am!"

"No"

"Yes!"

"No. and if you argue, I wont get any ramen at all, and wont let you eat it outside."

Her jaw dropped. He was smirking at her casually.

Damn Hyuuga…damn Neji!

"I hate you", she puffed, crossing her arms on her chest and glaring at the floor. She felt a kiss on her forehead. But when she looked up, he was already leaning away from her.

"Love you too, idiot. We'll take turns in the shower, then go sleep. It's late, and I have training to do from the morning"

Her cheeks heated up and she smiled nodding. Digging out a small bag from the last box, she dashed to the other room, stopping only to dig her pajamas from the first box.

Seeing the door shut with a soft click, Neji smiled and rubbed his cheek.

This wasn't going to be easy. And especially after the talk Gai, Kakashi and Hiashi had given him. How the hell did his sensei find out about his predicament, he didn't know. all he knew that the green clad jounin had found him in the same alley with the wooden fence, minutes after Naruto had left, mumbling something about finding her sensei.

After that, it had been utter horror. He really didn't want to hear about the birds and bees! And he was given a rather graphic description! It was too much youth for his liking. Right after his sensei had left, Kakashi had caught up with him, and after threatening him ("I will cut the most precious organ you have and feed it to mu dogs, right in front of your and every villager's eyes if you hurt her" ) had given him another version of the birds and bees, telling him things he really, really didn't need or want to know! he knew his face was all red by the time the copy nin had finished. He even got an orange book, as the man had dubbed 'for inspiration'.

He remembered coming home in a daze and bumping into his uncle once more. And he had gotten the same talk again, though this one reserved. Hiashi had clearly stated about the rules. No intimate relationship until she is of legitimate age. True, they all became adults at 12, but that didn't mean they could go and do anything, for one, both of them weren't ready. And two, Minato would find a way to come back from the dead and skin him alive if he even thought such things.

Plus it was tradition in the clans, any clans, including the Uzumaki. The marriages had to be pure. Both bride and groom had to be virgins, until their first night together. Neji understood this rule, and fully accepted it.

He was content with the fact that she was his now, and no one could steal her from him, especially not Uchiha. Her company alone made him happy. Like he was finally complete. What would come later, will come. He will never rush anything.

Smiling, he pushed the boxes to the wall, so as not to get in the way. She will most probably unpack them tomorrow.

Hearing footsteps, he turned his head. The door slid open to reveal Naruto, fuzzing with her long hair, dripping wet. She was dressed in a long white undershirt for boys (this made him quirk an eyebrow) and orange sweatpants, hanging low on her hips. Her sun-kissed hair was hanging on her side, and she was trying to squeeze the water out.

"it's getting too long, ttebane..", she growled, trying to comb the unruly locks with her fingers.

"It looks good. And if you are worried about it being a handicap at missions, just tie them up in twin pigtails", he suggested, gathering his own sleeping garments from the closet.

"Neji", she stared at him with wide eyes," you are a genius!"

He laughed and paddled out of the room.

While he went to shower, Naruto quickly went on her knees, hands grabbing the boxes. She needed to get this done. She knew herself too well. If she didn't do it now, she will never do it.

After placing her clothes in the closet, along with her shoes, she stood there, complementing her work.

Now..where to put her..underwear?

This was really not good.

Finding a small drawer in the closet, she crammed there all the bandages, bras, boxers (yes, she did like wearing them to sleep in the summer) and panties in a huge mess. After digging in the other box, she put all her socks there as well.

Naruto huffed, and stood up, closing the door behind her.

Most of the work was done. All was left where the small things in the last box. Thinking a bit, she placed the picture of Team 7 right next to the one of Team 9. She dumped all the other small stuff beside them. She was simply too tired to think of a place to put them.

Placing the boxes in each other, she took them in her arms and crossed the room, heading to the kitchen.

She placed them next to the trashcan and headed back as quickly as she could. She herself didn't know why she was rushing. So what if the bathroom was across the small hall that she was currently passing?

And Neji was going to come out all wet, with his hair untied..

She closed the sliding door behind her and smirked.

She was going to be his wife, right? And she was living with him, right? So this meant that she could touch his hair, right?

Wrong.

When he had just opened the door, she had tried to jump on him, with the intensions of finally touching his hair. No such luck. She found herself in the same predicament as the last time.

Her hands where gripped by his right hand and help over her head. Her back was flat on the floor and her fiancé was above her, smirking like the last time.

"Uzumaki, what are you doing?"

"Meanie Neji-baka! Why cant I touch your hair, ttebayo!", she ranted, glaring at him, cheeks flushed slightly.

He just laughed and got off her, settling on the futon.

"Because", he said offhandedly, making her even more angrier. She huffed and climbed to the bed, still scowling.

But her eyes still found his form. He really was handsome. Especially with the grey sweatpants and the white yukata, which wasn't tied up.

He turned off the light and found his way back to the futon. It was right next to the bed.

"Ne, Neji…I know that we are living together and all, but you know, I wont lose to you just because of this. I am going to kick your ass in the exam, dattebayo!"

A chuckle erupted from the darkness and Naruto turned to where she knew he was.

"Well, I am not planning on giving up. Besides, it doesn't matter if you win or lose. If we both fight strategically and show them that we have the skills to think in a battle, we will both become chuunin."

"So, this is like, working together with your enemy, who is your fiancé and at the same time, kicking his arse?"

"Maybe. I don't fully understand the situation either. We should sleep, it's been a long day."

"Yeah. The prelims, then what jiji told me, then the whole betrothal thing..it's all weird, tteabyo."

"You talked to the Third, right? That was what you where doing in the office. What did he tell you to make you cry? Is it because of our situation?"

She heard the silent plea in his voice.

Silly Neji.

"No. Neji-baka, stop being an idiot. Anyway, I went to jiji to ask him about dad, and you know, the sealing and kyuubi. The answer wasn't what I was expecting.."

The boy nodded to the darkness, smiling slightly at being called an idiot by an idiot. Maybe in some kind of other universe, he could have juukened her to death, literally for that, but not here, and never her. in a weird way, he liked it. It felt like…home?

His eyes roamed over her form, silently urging her to open up. The talk with the Hokage must have been important. And if it made her cry, he had to know it.

Minutes later, she was filling him in with everything Sarutobi Hiruzen had told her.

They had talked till late night, starting from their training schedules and ending up with chocolate for some weird reason.

The talk had ended when Naruto, finally giving in to the closing eyelids, fell into a blissful sleep, Neji following her lead minutes later. Both had squirmed and turned around in their sleep, finally resting with their fingers inches away from each other.

* * *

><p><strong>i think this chap will explain some things. they wont have making out sessions in every chap. nor will there be a lemon. <strong>

**she is 13 people. and even if i write a sequel, i wont include a lemon. deal with it. this fic is rated T for a reason. plus its adventure/romance. meaning i will focus on both. **

**anyways, i though i might go back to the whole sneezing thing i did in the first chaps, i liked that a lot myself lol.**

**i know this feels like a filler as well, but just wait.**

**i am dying of humiliation here btw. me and my friend were making covers today and i think i trolled 'part of your world' from the little mermaid lol.**

**damn.**

**anyways, some of you know i have been writing a few oneshots of femnaru, well i want to write them a bit more. i want to do a femnaruita, and a femnarukurama xD and of course a femnaruneji. i just need inspiratiooooooon**

**anyways, review guys. **


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

Naruto had woken up to the sunlight peeking through the window. She groaned audibly and buried her face deeper in her pillow, trying to go back to sleep. It was futile.

Damn that stupid window. And the stupid sun.

It felt like she had just gone to bed and was woken up 5 minutes later, ttebayo! It wasn't fair. After all the pain she went through yesterday….

Grumbling under her breath, she turned her head and gazed down. Neji was still sleeping, brow slightly furred. Maybe he was having a bad dream again? It was the second night this happened.

She sighed worriedly and slid her hand from under the warm white covers to come and rest on his cheek.

_So warm._

He immediately relaxed, inkling his head towards her hand.

Naruto stifled a small giggle building in her throat. Hyuuga Neji, the feared prodigy was such a baby sometimes. It was endearing. She liked that.

Stroking his cheek a bit, she thought about everything that had happened. It was only her second night and third day here. And she already felt more at home then in her lonely apartment. But still, there was something…uncomfortable about all this. Maybe it was the fact that she was inside a compound she never really wanted to be in? Especially living..Or maybe it was the fact that she was sharing everything with Neji (or was it the other way around?).

Slowly sitting up, she ran a hand through her messed up blonde strands.

It was so complicated for some reason. She was scared, scared that she got used to this. And she never wanted it to be any other way. Maybe…it was _fated _for them to end up living together, getting married in the end?

This thought made her blush and she hurriedly removed her hand from his face.

Scooping close to the wall, she hugged her knees, Neji's form disappearing from her view as she looked out of the window.

It was dawn. Weird, this was the first time for her to willingly wake up so early (Kakashi's bell test didn't count, after all she got her sleep in the training grounds that day). Damn her for waking up so early. But it was necessary. She needed to fit her fuuinjutsuu training sometime in her schedule, and maybe mornings were good for that. She would have to think it through. Besides, Neji would be waking up soon as well, as he was an early bird. She rather liked it when he woke her up the previous two times.

Well, maybe today she could do it, and get revenge for the rough awakening he had put her through.

She started cackling evilly, a feral smirk appearing on her face.

Sweet revenge..

Sliding noiselessly off the bed, she tiptoed to the kitchen and opened the drawer, searching.

_Where is it ttebayo..come on, where did he put it..AHA! found you!_

* * *

><p>Hyuuga Neji hated mornings, but living with a clan that rose at impossible hours, he got used to it. Still, that didn't change the fact that he loved sleeping in when he could, even if that didn't occur as often as he would have desired.<p>

Nevertheless, his awakenings where always pleasant. No noise, no yelling, no chaos, all calmness, warm silence and recently, a sleeping blonde (which was an addition he quite liked). He accepted it. It was all ok for him.

But being awakened rather rudely to a scream of 'WAKE UP NEJI TEME' and finding himself sopping in water from head to foot wasn't what he called normal.

Several ticks popped up on his head at the same time, which he would have thought was impossible.

Slowly, he turned to face his attacker. Oh she was in for hell!

"Naruto….I give you three seconds to run, for your _life!"_

He wasn't so sure if he liked the addition now.

A few minutes, and high pitched soul ripping scream later, all the Hyuuga in the compound were running around in panic and Hiashi was rubbing his temples. It wasn't a good idea to bring her here, he was sure of that now.

* * *

><p>Pouting, Naruto put on the black shirt, making sure to check the bandages she had wrapped around her chest. Neji was a big meanie teme! He even made her put his futon out in the sun, to dry off. Sure, it was her fault it was wet, ans she <em>was <em>occupying his bed, but still, she was a girl. Wasn't he the man in their little family like thing? Why did she have to do it.

Said teme was getting dressed in the other room. It had been silently decided that they will keep their privacy…for now.

Her eyes widening in horror at that, she grabbed her head, yelling inside her own mind that she was turning into a pervert. Trying very hard to deny that, she skipped to the kitchen and started making instant ramen.

Neji entered a few minutes later and glared at her food.

"Ramen..isn't healthy, especially instant ramen."

She scoffed and stuffed her mouth with noodles. Gulping it down, she pointed her chopsticks at him accusingly.

"Not my fault all you have are vegetables, ttebayo! I HATE those!"

"They are full of vitamins and elements needed in order to grow, _chibi Naru!", _he taunted and watched with a smirk as she stared to turn into a tomato from anger.

Chuckling, he pulled out two milk cartons and sat them on the table.

"How about we go shopping then? Get ramen, rice.."

"Candy!", she yelled, "and lots of ramen!", she stood up and leaned to him, her baby blues in the perfect doggy eyes. Neji just rolled his eyes and putting a finger on her forehead, moved her back and making her slump on the chair. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked away with a huff.

"No ramen"

She opened her mouth in horror.

"We already have about twenty cups. Besides, don't you like eating it at Ichiraku's?", he asked while getting up and opening a cupboard on the wall beside him. Her mouth closed with a snap as he pulled out cereal.

"So…you are saying that we get to eat there every day?"

"Not every…we don't have such money Naruto, and I can't satisfy that neverending enormous pit that's your stomach"

The blonde crossed her arms in mock anger, but he saw the slight glint of laughter in her eyes.

"Hmph", she grumbled, taking a sip of her milk.

"I am heading out to train in a bit", said Neji after chewing a spoonful of cereal. True, the Hyuuga were traditional and all, but the boy, and many in Konoha, in fact preferred using western devices used for eating. It was more convenient. Plus Neji thought that gulping from the bowl directly was uncivilized.

Naruto nodded. He was always the first to leave and the last to return. From what she knew, his training regime was quite intense. During the time he was away and she was home, she researched and studied the fuuinjutsu advanced scrolls and the notebooks.

"I might be late today too, later then you I mean…I can't say for sure."

"Hm. Don't overdo it, whatever it is you are doing there."

"Heh, I'm going to beat that pretty ass of yours in theexams for sure,ttebayo.."

"You really are a pervert, Uzumaki, and one with a fascination of people's backsides."

Said blonde choked on her milk, and which her mouth full of the liquid, glared at him. The effect was lost due to her over-cuteness even in drinking milk.

"Neji teme!"

Laughter exploded in the small kitchen, and to the onlookers, it would have been a strange sight to see, it they peeked through the window.

A boy was running around in circles around the table almost lazily, laughing like there was no tomorrow with a blonde small girl half his size running after him, desperately trying to catch him and yelling words she learned who knows where on top of her lungs.

Many miles away, deep inside the rainy walls of Amegakure, a certain raven haired boy in his late teens sneezed, making his blue skinned partner attack him, thinking he was an imposter. Dodging it, the crimson eyed boy rubbed the twin lines under his eyes, suddenly remembering how he had taught his brother and a certain blonde jinchuuriki the curses he had heard from his former ANBU teammates. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to teach 'proper language skills' to three year olds. Musing on it, and sending Kisame a glare, he moved on with the intent to finish the mission soon. He had no desire to catch pneumonia. And if his shark friend made him linger more then necessary…well, maybe he could serve _sushi _in the main hideout later. He doubted anyone would notice it was _blue_…

* * *

><p>Making her way to the small waterfall, she spotted her pervert of a sensei. Scowling, she appeared behind him and aimed a kick. It hit the air.<p>

"Gaki, I am one of the Sannin for a reason ya know!", he boomed, smiling. She glared but smiled seconds later. For some reason, she just couldn't stay angry at her mentor for a long time, he just had the weird personality, and she simply loved it! And it had _nothing_ to do with the fact that it reminded her of herself.

"So…I finished water walking, ttebayo…what was the thing you where going to teach me, ero-sennin!", she demanded.

Grumbling slightly at the nickname, the white haired man pulled out the scroll on his back and unrolled it.

"I want you to sign here, in blood. It's a summoning scroll."

Naruto felt her cerulean eyes widen in disbelief. This was most probably the gama summoning scroll! And he was giving it to her! Sugoi! Plus..this made her plans for her swords much easier too! Jiraya was so cool!

Smiling widely, she bit her thumb and carefully wrote the kanji for her name in the empty column, right next to 'Namikaze Minto'.

"Good.", said the man, rolling up the scroll and strapping it to his back.

"Tou-chan had it too..", whispered the blonde with a faraway look in her eyes.

Jiraya caught it and frowned. How did she know that Minato was her father?

Naruto caught the slightly calculating glare and shrugged, rubbing her blonde locks sheepishly.

"Neji told me, then I asked Jiji, he confirmed and told me about okaa-chan too. Don't worry, I wont go blabbing, besides, I want to be respected and acknowledged for who I am, not for who my mom and dad where, or for the Kyuubi, ttebayo!"

Silence followed this statement as she watched her sensei look up to the sky, hands crossed over his chest.

"Well", he said, finally turning his gaze back to her," I am proud of you. You understand that much. Not many would be able to keep their excitement, gaki"

The surprisingly soft look in his grey eyes startled her slightly. She wasn't used to seeing that, especially on the Sannin.

Jiraya dug deep in his pockets and pulled out a small faded cream book.

Naruto eyed it warily.

"I want you to read this"

"If this is porn…"

The threat was left hanging in the air.

He waved his hand impatiently.

"It's not. It's the first book I have written. I am sure you will find some answers to a few question your little head is full of, I'm sure. Besides, it's a good read. Even your parents read it."

Naruto grabbed it without second thought. It was something they touched…and no matter how pathetic it sounded, it was comfort for her. They were no longer unreal, imaginary. He dad, he had touched this, and he was alive when he did it. It hade her feel a piece of him, and her mother in the small book. She knew it wasn't making any sense, but she really didn't care.

"Arigatou, Jiraya sensei!", she whispered, giving him a small, hesitant smile. The man just ruffled her hair.

"Now, brat, I am going to show you the hand signs. Follow and repeat", he said, biting his thumb and forming the handseals.

_"Boar Dog Bird Monkey Ram, _Kuchiyose no jutsu!". Naruto watched him slam his palm on the ground. Seals appeared in circles and in a puff of smoke, a red toad appeared, easily the same size as her sensei.

Realizing her mouth was open, she closed it.

"Sugoi…"

"Now you try it. And while you do that, tell me about this Neji. What else did he do to you. Does he touch you inappropriately? If so, I am going to get there and make sure he doesn't see daylight again..or maybe give him as a pincushion for senbon practice, or even better, give him to Tsunade hime as a punching bag.."

Naruto sweatdropped. He was acting weird…

"Ne ne, sensei…why are you so worried, ttebayo!"

"Why? What do you mean why! I am your godfather for Kami's sake! I have to be the first to be worried here!"

Two seconds later.

"NANI!"

"Damn..busted…get to summoning, gaki!"

* * *

><p>A few hours later, and Naruto was chatting off to Gamakichi. She had been able to summon a few other toads, including Gamatatsu as well (he wanted candy, so he was sent off in a hurry). All in all, she was doing ok for only a few hours of training. But Jiraya wasn't satisfied. After the slight row they had, her yelling something like 'where the hell were you all my life' and him bellowing back something along the lines of 'I am Konoha's spy, I always travel and gather information, brat', and a long lecture about Neji, including her own behavior regarding him, they ad finally gotten to the most important part, and the main reason both of them where near the waterfall. Training. And from what she could tell, Jiraya wasn't happy at all. <em>Come on, <em>ttebayo she summoned a few toads bigger then her, what else did he expect from her? And on the very first day too!

"I want you to learn how to use the fox's chakra", he stated bluntly, after she had demanded an explanation from him.

"What? Why.."

"Because, there will come a time when you will need to use it, and for that, you need to control it, even the slightest bit of it. You don't have the chakra, or control to summon the toad boss, which is what I want you to do. Now, drain all your normal chakra", he commanded, crossing his arms.

Gulping, Naruto complied and made a cross sign. She was in for hell, she knew it. But she would go along. After all, it was her training and she wanted to be strong. Plus she had a certain raven ass, Suna ass and a Hyuuga ass to kick.

"Taijuu Kage Bunshin no jutsu!", she yelled and the whole place filled with clones. Jiraya whistled at she sheer number of them. Gaki had a _lot _of chakra.

"Full out brawl, guys! Use wind jutsu too! Anything, ttebayo!"

A few hours later, Naruto, bruised and battered made her way to her sensei.

"Right, try again."

She did, but nothing come out, not even a pitiful tadpole.

She gulped, not really knowing what to do.

"Say gaki, imagine this is your last day. What would you want to do?"

Surprised at the sudden weird question, she thought for a while, ticking off her options on her fingers as she voiced them aloud. A certain particular one made her blush and her sensei glare at the closest wall.

Feeling him grab her shoulder, she yelped. Bing shiunshined side along wasn't the best feeling. she wanted to learn to do it herself! After eating a bowl in Ichiraku's and trying (and failing) to find her teammates, she found herself being teleported to training ground 9. All the members of Team Gai paused midstance. Neji raised a worried eyebrow at the state Naruto was in. But he didn't have the chance to glare at the white haired Sannin, when he felt Naruto grab his shirt and yank it down, making him bend over in an almost double. The soft butterfly kiss she planted on his lips froze him on the spot, but before he could even react, a wave of leaves signaled the disappearance of his fiancé.

For a few minutes his usually loud teammates had lost the ability to speak. Neji himself was in a daze. What..just happened?

Later (he didn't know how much. Maybe minutes, maybe hours) Tenten smiled. Lee gave him a cheeky grin and a thumbs up.

But Gai, he stayed quiet, black eyes narrowed at the spot the girl and her sensei disappeared to.

"Jiraya-sama…don't tell me you are going to use the same method.."

Neji rounded on him suspiciously, finally regaining the sense of feeling.

"What do you mean, Gai sensei..?", he asked.

"His training is harsh, and when something doesn't go the way he wants, he uses drastic measures. Fr example, I have seen it with my own eyes when I was about 5 years old. Jiraya-sama was training the Yondaime at that time, who was a gennin. To up his speed, he had thrown him in an enormous nest with bees, which where 5 times bigger then the ones found now. Namikaze-sama had to literally run for his life."

Neji paled. Naruto had close to no chakra left, and was at the brick of exhaustion. What was the Sannin planning to do..

Gai, noticing the discomfort in his student, clapped a hand on his back and smiled.

"Do not worry Neji, her flames of youth shine very brightly, after all, she is the student of my rival! She will be fine."

He nodded and looked at the spot she disappeared.

_Don't overdo it, Chibi Naru.._

* * *

><p>Naruto screamed, flying through the air. How the hell did it end like this! Why did he just chuck her in the canyon!<p>

Desperately focusing chakra in her feet, she flipped through the air as much as the pressure let her, trying to cling to the murky walls.

Slippery!

Dammit, she couldn't do anything!

Wait….Kyuubi's chakra! That's it!

But how was she supposed to call on to it? The last few times it happened was when she was angry!

We she was pissed now, but it wasn't the same. Screwing her eyes, she thought of the fox, trying to connect in a way.

Everything disappeared. She landed facefirst in some weird water. Funny, it didn't hurt, nor did she feel the cool wetness.

Where the hell was she anyway. She raised herself up and stared around.

It looked like a sewer.

A low growl emitted from behind her. she whirled around, eyes wide to stare at an enormous cage.

There was a small paper note tapped to the middle bars, reading 'seal'in kanji.

Naruto stared. This was…her mindscape then? And behind the cage…

Out of nowhere, a giant crimson paw pushed through the bars and swatted at her. Screaming, Naruto backed away.

"**So, finally here, gaki!"**

* * *

><p><strong>i am sorry guys for the late update. i cant update every day now. i have my exams in like 2 days, and my diploma, graduation exams and all. so i will try updating when i find free time, which wont be much. i wont abandon this, like i have told you guys loads of times. max i can say it will be on hiatus for 2 months if i dont update during the period. <strong>

**funny, i had a writers block on writing my works on marketing xD didnt know that can happen. **

**anyways, hope this chap was good.**

**i have some news. i will be rereading each chap and fixing the mistakes. but it would be great if you guys pointed out which chap had them most. i will check chap6, cos one of you said it had a lot of typos. anyways..**

**oh, i promised to draw a pic of femnaru, right? well, i have a link in my profile, check it if you want. its not as good as i wanted it to be but in my defence it was my first time drawing and coloring with a computer programm. **

**right...well, i guess thats it. i would love reviews, and promise to update as soon as i have free time. **

**hope the chap was good. **


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